Overboard remix
by RogueAngel
Summary: Written for the Jim and Bones LJ Reel Love Challenge.  A Star Trek AU.  James is wealthy and pampered; Bones is a grouchy, divorced doctor trying to raise his kids.  When James refuses to pay him things happen.  Based on the 1987 movie Overboard.
1. Chapter 1

**Title**: Overboard (remix) 1/6

**Author**: RogueAngel

**Rating**: PG-13

**Characters/pairings**: Jim/Bones, with appearances of Spock, Gary Mitchell, Scotty, Sulu, Chekov and Winona. Passing mentions of Rand, Chapel, Uhura, and Riley.

**Word count**: 34,000+ (I just can't write short fics!)

**Summary**: James Kirk is a wealthy man with everything he could ever want, except maybe a partner he could love. Leonard McCoy is a bitter divorcee with three boys to raise living in the ass-end of Georgia. When James refuses to pay Leonard for services rendered Leonard is understandably upset. When James loses his memory and accidentally wanders back into Leonard's life, Leonard decides to take advantage of the situation. Who knew that they'd fit so well together?

**Warnings**: From the title this is obviously based off of the 1987 classic rom-com starring Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. Whether I actually stayed true to the rom-com aspect is up to you. And while there is a boat and Jim does fall off of it, I did find that it is much harder to suspend disbelief with a crazy plot in a movie rather than in a fic – I had to somehow try to make the whole thing realistic, at least to my mind. Whether I did or not is up to you, the reader.

**Disclaimer**: Not mine. Never was. Never will be. I don't own or have anything to do with Star Trek, Overboard, Chris Pine, Karl Urban, J.J. Abrams, Garry Marshall, Goldie Hawn or Kurt Russell. And I'm definitely not making any money.

**Author's Notes**: This fic was inspired by the Reel Love Challenge over at the Jim and Bones Livejournal. It popped up on New Years Day and took over my life for a week. I think it's the fastest I've ever written a fic of this length, but it just would not leave me alone until I had finished it. Waiting to post killed me.

Thanks go to **Caitri** who was kind enough to take time to beta read for me.

Thanks to my usual beta reader – **Royalpinkdogs** – who is very old school and is very opposed to the slashing of her favorite characters, but who took the time to read this over despite those facts. Thanks J!

And also to my daughter, **Roughdiamond5**, who also read over this and offered her feedback and put up with my comma splices.

**Overboard (remix)**

**Chapter 1**

Leonard groused under his breath as he once more looked at the directions he had scrawled on the back of his prescription pad. Only two weeks in this godforsaken excuse for a backwater Georgia town and he hadn't even known that it had something that could pass for a 'waterfront.' What the hell was a boat doing this far north? Was the owner some kind of idiot?

Still the bastard was willing to pay top dollar for a 'house call' so Leonard figured it was best to put on his polite smile and go take the fool's money.

He was less than impressed by the town's 'waterfront,' seeing that it consisted of two rickety looking docks that had seen better days, a boat launch and a marina with only three boats bobbing in the water. He wanted to laugh. His patient's boat wasn't hard to miss at least. It was easily twenty, maybe even twenty-five feet, long; a sleek three story motor boat. What it was doing here, was beyond Leonard. If it wasn't for the plentiful snowfall and rainfall over the winter and the almost flood conditions of the lake and river systems, he doubted that it would have made it this far upstream any other year.

From the thumping music he heard emanating from the boat and the bikini clad females he saw sunbathing on the top, he was positive that the owner was young, male and an idiot. Parking his old truck, Leonard grabbed his medical kit and approached the dock, looking with a jaundiced eye as he tread over the worn and decaying boards. He was not going to be happy if he fell into the river, it was ass cold anytime of year, besides there was no telling what disease ridden dangers were in there.

"Uh, hello?" he called up to where he could hear the music playing; something loud with a lots of bass. Techno crap. There was no response, which wasn't very surprising considering the volume. Gingerly he began walking up the plank leading to the entry level. "Hello?" he called again, when he finally climbed on board.

"Yez?" a head popped out from the lower stairwell.

"I'm Dr. McCoy," Leonard said with relief. "I'm here to see…" he glanced down at his scribbled notes, "uh…James Kirk."

The head nodded and then a finger came out, pointing towards the ceiling. "De capt'n iz up," the man said before disappearing below.

From the wonderful smells coming from that direction, Leonard hazarded a guess that the man was cooking. Looking around, he easily spotted the steep steps that would take him to the upper deck and all the noise. He didn't particularly care for boats, but at least this one was stationary, he thought as he began to climb. When he reached the top the scene that greeted him made him pause in his tracks, the smell of cocoa butter hitting him like a slap to the face.

There were four girls – he just couldn't call them women – in various states of undress spread around on top of the boat. The two without tops were laid out sunbathing, which was just asking for trouble in Leonard's opinion, and the other two were dancing, each holding a champagne flute as they circled each other sinuously to the music. These two were at least fully clothed, or, rather, covered in the necessary places by skimpy bikinis that really amounted to a few strategically placed strings. There was a dark-haired male lounging on the padded seating area that took up one side of boat. He was watching the girls' performance with a snifter of dark liquid in his hand, one knee raised as he leaned on his elbow, a smirk on his face.

The other man, a blond, had his feet up on the ship's dashboard and was reading a PADD, ignoring the performance going on two feet behind him.

Taking the last few steps to get all the way up, Leonard stood there for a moment then cleared his throat. The pumping sound of the music easily drowned him out.

"Hello," Leonard called out, pitching his voice above the bass.

The dark-haired man languorously turned his head and looked Leonard over from head to toe. "Hey man," he grinned, taking a sip of his drink. "Here to join the party?"

Trying not to roll his eyes, Leonard shook his head. "I'm Dr. McCoy," he stated. "I was called out here to meet with James Kirk."

"Cool," the other man nodded, his eyes going back to the girls.

Leonard was about to ask where this Kirk character was, when one of the women detached herself from her dance partner and sashayed over to the blond man. "James," she sing-songed, running a hand through his hair and in the process pulling out an ear bud that had been lodged tightly in his ear. "Jaaaammmmessss," she repeated, moving to sit in his lap.

"What do you want, Candice?" the man asked, his tone sounding put upon, though his hands were caressing the skin of her hips and legs.

"I'm Mallory," she pouted prettily at him, one hand running up his chest and behind his neck.

"What do you want, _Mallory_?" this James repeated, stopping her hand from going further.

"You have a visitor," she told him mock-seriously, in a way that only a drunk person can. Leaning forward she placed her lips against his ear and grinned, her eyes on Leonard. "A doctor," she whispered. "A very pretty one, too," she added with a giggle. "Can he join us?"

James turned his head and looked over at Leonard. Whatever he saw made him smirk. "I doubt it," he told the girl as he stood up and set her on her feet. "I don't think he's interested in your kind of party."

Leaning against the dashboard, she pouted at Leonard as she took a sip of her drink. "Pity."

Setting his PADD and ear buds on the seat, Leonard had a chance to look over his soon-to-be patient and he had to admit that he liked what he saw. Kirk was barefoot, wearing a loose pair of linen pants rolled up to mid calf and a loose, unbuttoned white shirt. What skin he could see was smooth and pale, with definite muscle definition of his chest and abdominals. The kid might be a playboy, but he took care of himself too.

"Ready, doc?" the kid asked with a sly smile, obviously having caught Leonard's blatant once over. To his credit, the kid didn't preen, just looked at him, raising his sunglasses onto the top of his head and revealing the most stunning pair of blue eyes Leonard had ever seen.

Scowling at the kid's knowing look, Leonard gripped his bag tightly. "Whenever you are, Mr. Kirk, though I suggest some place a bit more private."

The kid's eyebrow shot up at that, and his smirk widened. Leonard could have kicked himself. "Private is good," Kirk agreed, striding across the deck like a panther, then passing by Leonard, their clothes barely brushing. "Follow me, doc," he said as he started down the stairwell.

"Have fun, James," the other man called after them with a laugh, causing Leonard to blush and frown.

Leonard followed Kirk down two small stairwells, through a well appointed galley that smelled delicious, down a short hallway, and into a surprisingly large bedroom with a king size bed.

Looking around in appreciation, who knew there was this much room in a boat? Leonard forced himself to turn his attention to his patient. "What seems to be…Holy shit!"

Standing in front of him, with his pants around his ankles and hands on his hips, Kirk was grinning manically. "Impressed, doc?" he smirked. "That wasn't exactly the response I expected from a doctor, you know? Thought you'd seen it all, and all that."

Forcing his eyes away from Kirk's display, Leonard made himself look directly into Kirk's eyes and not blush. "Well, I'm not used to my patients dropping their pants without a how do you do," he growled. This kid obviously had a big ego. It was surprising the damn boat wasn't listing.

"Well, how'd ya do, doc?" Kirk grinned, kicking off his pants, not the least bit embarrassed by his nakedness. "Never seen anything like it, huh? Didn't mean to embarrass you. It is rather big," he stated, reaching down and tugging slightly. He tried to look causal, but Leonard caught the slight flinch as he moved his hand away.

"I've seen bigger," Leonard told him drily, not impressed by the kid's preening. In truth, he probably had seen bigger, not that he measured his partners. Before settling down with Joss, he'd made quite a few conquests of the female and male persuasion, so he was intimately familiar with the male genitalia outside of a clinical setting, but none of his partners had a set of cock and balls quiet as attractive as James Kirk's. He wasn't particularly interested in size, feeling the person attached to it was more important than the length and breadth of the cock, but even flaccid Kirk was a decently proportioned six inches, maybe more, with a cut, pink glans and low hanging, hairless balls. Professionally, if he had to guess, he would say that Kirk was easily in the ninetieth percentile for cock size.

"I'm sure you have," Kirk smirked at him as he reclined back onto his elbows on the bed, his blue eyes not leaving Leonard's face.

"Of course the ones I've seen aren't in danger of rotting off because of a STI," Leonard stated, happy to see the smirk fall off Kirk's face for a moment.

"Well, that seems to be a problem with being popular," Kirk rallied almost instantly.

"And stupid," Leonard countered, putting his bag on one of the low dressers and reaching for a pair of gloves and his tricorder. "How long have you had these symptoms?" he asked, switching immediately into doctor mode, noting the slightly raised splotches of color along the length of Kirk's penis, as well as the discoloration around its head.

"A couple days," Kirk admitted, watching with interest as Leonard scanned his cock, using one finger to lift it and expose the underside for further scanning.

"And how long have the lovely Mallory and her friends been visiting?" Leonard asked sarcastically, frowning at the read outs.

Kirk's smirk widened. "About a week."

"I see," Leonard responded wryly, rolling his eyes. "Well, you're in luck. It's treatable. Your cock's not going to rot off, but I would advise using a nano barrier as well as a sperm suppressant. You are using some kind of birth control, right?" he asked with some concern.

"Of course, doc," Kirk said with not a little scorn. "No way I want any little Kirks running around any time soon – or ever," he said, his tone rather more dark than Leonard expected. "I'm not stupid."

"Yet you've been infected with a STI that is easily avoided with proper caution and protection," Leonard pointed out with barely concealed scorn. Reaching into his bag and looking through his hypospray vials he searched for a broad spectrum antibiotic and an STI blocker. "You allergic to anything, kid?" he asked.

Kirk shrugged, his eyes warily on the hypospray in Leonard's hand. "I don't really like those, I prefer pills, if you have them."

"I don't," Leonard said, "and it would take two weeks of pills to treat this, which would put your dick out of commission for at least that long, something I don't think you'd want," he stated, his eyebrow raised condescendingly.

"Not really," Kirk grinned at him, his blue eyes twinkling. "I'd hate to disappoint any of my partners – male or female."

"I'm sure, kid," Leonard shook his head in exasperation at the thinly veiled come-on. Without warning, he reached out and depressed the hypo into Kirk's neck, suppressing a grin at the squawk of surprise the other man made. "Don't be such an infant." Turning away, he began to rustle through his kit once more. He probably had enough antibiotic to dose everyone on this damn boat – six of them, if he counted the cook, just to be safe. "How many people you got on board this thing, kid?" he asked over his shoulder.

There was no response except for a choked off cough and a wheeze.

"What's your problem…" he started to say as he turned around and his eyes widened. Kirk was bright red and splotchy, his hands at his throat as if to loosen his nonexistent collar. "Oh fuck," Leonard almost yelled, reaching into his kit for another hypospray, praying the kid wasn't allergic to this too. Slamming it into Kirk's thigh, he was relieved to see the redness fade and the kid's breathing ease immediately. "What the hell, kid!" he started to rant. "I asked you if you were allergic to anything and you said no!" He helped Kirk move up to the head of the bed and pulled the sheets out from under him and then covered him up to his waist as he lay panting and pale on the pillows.

"I said I didn't like hyposprays," Kirk wheezed lightly.

"Well, not liking them and being allergic to them are two different things, you goddamn idiot," Leonard growled as he ran the tricorder over Kirk one more time. The inflammation was gone, and the antibiotic had taken affect, already working on the STI. He wasn't going to have to get the kid any pills to take care of it at least. He must have had a reaction to something in the spray, a binder or other incidental ingredient. "Look, I have to go dose the rest of the fools on this boat," he told the other man, whose eyes were already at half mast. "You rest and I'll check on you in a half hour, the recovery med I gave you is going to make you sleepy for a while."

"You've got some bedside manner, doc," Kirk slurred, one corner of his mouth lifting ironically. "You sure this is the right job for you?"

"I'm a doctor right down to my bones, kid," Leonard told him; using his thumb to lift each of Kirk's eyelids to check his pupils. "I just don't like dealing with idiots."

"Notta id'it," Kirk tried to respond, but he was already asleep.

Leonard just shook his head slowly as he pulled the covers up further onto Kirk's chest. "Seems to me you are a Class A Idiot, kid," he said softly. "A pretty one, but still an idiot."

Three hours later, Leonard was still on the damn boat, his head aching in time with the thumping music from above deck. He'd had no trouble dosing the other occupants on board, except for the Vulcan who had magically appeared as he had exited Kirk's bedroom. Taking in the stiff posture and forbidding look, Leonard had figured that it was a long shot that Kirk would even try to sleep with the man. The others were easy. After trying to explain the situation over the nonstop music, he had just fallen back on his I'm-a-doctor-so-don't-mess-with-me rant. Luckily no one else had had a reaction, but that still left him here, sitting in an uncomfortable dining chair that he had dragged into the bedroom while waiting for Kirk to wake up.

To keep himself busy he'd itemized his bill, figuring he'd split the difference with Kirk in regards to the amount of time he'd had to sit around and wait for the idiot to wake up. After that he worked on a crossword puzzle he had saved on his PADD.

"Five letter word for rapscallion," he muttered to himself, tapping the stylus against his lips.

"Rogue," Kirk's voice piped up sleepily, startling Leonard into dropping the stylus.

"What?" he asked, frowning down at the stylus, he bent forward to pick it up.

"Five letter word for rapscallion," Kirk repeated, turning his head so that late afternoon sun caught his eyes and made them almost glow. "Rogue, as in hooligan, scalawag, scamp…rapscallion. I suppose scamp could work too," he shrugged. "But rogue came to mind first."

Looking down at his PADD, Leonard typed it in. "Well, I'll be damned," he said, one eyebrow rising in surprise.

"See, I'm not an idiot," Kirk told him, while levering himself up to lean against the headboard. "What the hell did you hit me with, Bones?" he asked crankily, rubbing at his temples.

Leonard looked at the kid in confusion, before reaching for his tricorder. He stood up and began scanning. "You feeling all right, kid?"

"I'm fine," Kirk waved away the tricorder, glaring weakly. "Just a massive hangover headache and a sore neck and thigh where you stabbed me with your damn weapons."

"They aren't weapons, they're hyposprays, and if you would have told me that you're allergic," Leonard started to work up to another tirade.

"I didn't know," Kirk snapped angrily. "I've always taken pills."

"So who's this 'Bones', then?" Leonard asked, setting down the tricorder and reaching for Kirk's head, tilting it so he could get a good look in the kid's eyes. They looked clear and focused, but there was no telling what the allergic reaction might have triggered.

"You are," Kirk grinned slyly at him, seeming to find some humor in the situation. "I'm a doctor down to my bones," he quoted in a horrible attempt at a southern drawl.

Leonard frowned. "Your accent is terrible," he told Kirk. Giving him a quick once over, he shrugged. "I guess you're fine. You should probably let your doctor know about your allergy to the hypospray, but other than that, I'm done here." Tossing his PADD onto Kirk's lap, Leonard crossed his arms and looked down at his patient. "There's your total. I take cash or credit transfers. I do not bill."

Picking it up, Kirk frowned. "No way," he said incredulously. "I did not pay you to hypospray everyone else on this ship. You were only supposed to see me. And I am certainly not paying for your time while you waited for me to wake up because you and your happy hypospray caused an allergic reaction that made me almost stop breathing!"

Leonard was stunned silent, if only for a moment. "Now you see here kid," he began, shaking his finger like his mama used to do to him when he was being contrary. "First of all, if I didn't dose everyone else on this damn boat, you'd just get infected again. Someone had to be the carrier and if y'all are participating in some sort of Goddamn bacchanal then it was the only thing to do. And secondly," he continued before Kirk could speak, "if you would have told me you were allergic then I would have given you something different that wouldn't have caused a reaction, so that's your own damn fault. Besides, I only charged you for an extra hour rather than the actual two and a half I waited. And I didn't even charge for the fact that I had to deal with your enormous ego and blatant exhibitionism," he finished, breathing heavily.

Kirk sat in bed, arms crossed over his chest, his eyes dark. "No," he said definitively. "I will not pay for the extras. In fact, I'm not paying for anything," he stated, tossing the PADD at Leonard with a dismissive nod, looking down his nose at Leonard imperiously. "Your patient care was poor at best; substandard, even. I will not pay for such treatment."

"Now, wait just a minute," Leonard began, his chest puffing up with indignation.

"Spock?" Kirk called out.

Before Leonard could say another word the Vulcan was standing in the doorway, his face impassive as he looked at Kirk.

"Please escort the doctor off this boat," Kirk said, his voice sounding pompous and arrogant.

"Yes, sir," Spock nodded slightly. "Doctor, if you will please follow me."

"I will not," Leonard declared crossly before turning to face Kirk. "You spoiled, stuck up, arrogant little…"

And then the world went blank. The next thing Leonard knew it was near dusk and he was lying face down on the sorry excuse for a dock, his neck and shoulder stiff and sorer than he'd ever felt before.

"Goddamn it," he muttered as he rolled over, bringing one hand to cover his eyes as his head started to throb. Absently he registered a splash in his vicinity, but didn't pay it much mind as he felt like he had the mother of all hangovers. It was only when he leaned over the side of the dock to throw up that he saw his medical kit floating in the water just out of arms reach. "Well, hell," he moaned after he managed to keep the contents of his stomach actually in his stomach. His daddy had given him that bag. There was no way he was just going to let it float away.

It was a wet, sore and pissed off Leonard McCoy who arrived at his ramshackle house to find the babysitter tied up on the porch with duct tape, her eyes wide and furious, the boys nowhere in sight.

"Dr. McCoy," she said shrilly as soon as he removed the tape from her mouth, "I fear that I must submit my resignation as your nanny – effective immediately."

"Now Janice," Leonard tried to say soothingly, after all this would be the third time she'd quit in the last two weeks. Gently he went about removing the tape from around her torso. "The boys were just…"

"They're demons, Dr. McCoy," she spat out, leaning forward to undo her ankles, "and I refuse to watch them anymore. I don't care how much you pay me," she snapped, cutting off Leonard's customary offer of more money. "I quit. I wish I could say I'm sorry for the late notice, but I'm not." With that, she grabbed her purse, conveniently left on the porch step next to her, and marched to her car. She squealed briefly as she sat on something, and then threw a pinecone out the window. Without another look she sped off down the driveway and away from the McCoy home – and its demon children.

With a sigh, McCoy squelched into the house, leaving his soaking shoes on the front porch. At least tomorrow was Sunday and he wouldn't have to go into the office unless there was an emergency.

"Boys!" he called, knowing they weren't far away. Sure enough, twelve year-old Monty's head popped up from behind the couch, eight year-old Hikaru appeared from the kitchen and five year-old Pavel unearthed himself from a pile of clothes under the dinning table. Seeing their seemingly innocent little faces looking up at him expectantly, Leonard just sighed and shook his head. "I'm going to go change my clothes, then we can have dinner. What do you want?" he asked tiredly.

"Mac 'n cheese," little Pavel piped up immediately.

"A sandwich would be fine with me," Monty told him.

"I can make a salad," Hikaru offered with a small smile.

"Fine, fine," Leonard responded as he made his way to his bedroom. "Hikaru, you start on the salad. Monty, Pavel, clean off the table and set it. I'll make mac and cheese and some sandwiches in a minute."

It wasn't really what he had dreamed of, but at least he had someone to come home to.

His plan after completing medical school at Ole Miss had been to return to Atlanta, go into practice with his father and live out his days as a quiet country doctor with a wife, kids and a house with a white picket fence, all the while taking on research projects in his spare time.

He'd gotten the wife and the house, the blasted money pit that Jocelyn just had to have, but the boys, her three 'little angels,' as she liked to call them when they were entertaining company, were all Joss's idea. They'd taken them in after their parents, friends of Joss's through the country club, had been killed in a shuttle crash and no other relatives had stepped forward.

He'd been sympathetic to their plight, and they could be extremely charming when they wanted to be, so he'd agreed. Joss's stock had risen immediately in her club and she'd enjoyed playing mama to the boys for the most part, but not enough to take them with her when she'd left him for Clay Treadway, the local district attorney and her old high school boyfriend, shortly after Leonard's father had died after a long and debilitating sickness.

No, she hadn't wanted the boys, but she had wanted the house and everything in it, all his money and, as a bonus, his medical license, because damn it if she didn't postulate to just about everyone in town that he'd outright killed his own father to get the family practice.

He hadn't killed his father, not outright and not out of spite or of want of his medical practice, but he had eased the man's passing at his own request. Leonard had tried to tell himself that he was just being a good son and doing what his father asked, but it hadn't helped. He'd crawled into a bottle after his father's death and not come out until he was faced with divorce papers, an eviction notice and three pairs of little eyes – hazel, brown and blue – staring at him in confusion and worry.

Cleaning himself up, he'd made a deal with Treadway to give up everything in the divorce if they'd leave his medical license alone. They'd agreed, as long as he promised to leave the Atlanta area. Leonard had immediately agreed, figuring it was a small price to pay and not wanting to be reminded of his father every time he turned a corner. He hadn't been quite ready to leave Georgia just yet, so he'd used what money he had to buy a small practice in Bumfuck, Georgia at the ass end of Lake Lanier where he could take care of the locals and raise the boys free of pointed glares and pitying looks.

And as a bonus he got to deal with ass-holes like James Kirk, the high society type that he'd thought he left behind in Atlanta. Life just wasn't fair sometimes.

_Please review_


	2. Chapter 2

**Title**: Overboard (remix) 2/6

**Author**: RogueAngel

**Rating**: PG-13

**Characters/pairings**: Jim/Bones, with appearances of Spock, Gary Mitchell, Scotty, Sulu, Chekov and Winona. Passing mentions of Rand, Chapel, Uhura, and Riley.

**Word count**: 34,000+ (I just can't write short fics!)

**Chapter 2**

James sat alone on the top deck enjoying the cooling evening air. Of course, it was early June in Georgia, so it wasn't that cool, but the breeze from the slow moving boat was nice and kept the bugs away. They'd left the dock at The Ass End of Nowhere not more than ten minutes ago, the doctor still unconscious, but starting to stir. He felt slightly bad for how the doc was going to feel when he woke up, but pushed it out of his mind. The man's bedside manner had sucked and there was no way he was going to pay for all the extras he had added on. He was a Kirk. He was used to people trying to take his money and he wasn't going to let some grouchy, backwoods doctor take advantage of him.

Spock hadn't wanted to leave Nowhere Ville until morning, but Jim had insisted. Manny could follow the sounding scans and at a couple knots per hour they'd make some progress back to the main lake and hopefully figure out where Mandy's – Candy's? – whoever's cousin or sister or neighbor was waiting to be picked up. It was all a waste of time, James thought with a sigh, but what else could he do? He'd promised Gary a summer of sailing and he'd picked Georgia of all places. Maybe in a few weeks he could talk Gary into trading in this motor boat for one of the Kirk yachts and they could cruise around the Gulf instead.

Sitting up from where he had stretched out, he wrapped his elbows around his knees, his head still tilted back so he could see the stars.

"You signing off for the night, Spock?" he asked over his shoulder to his ever silent butler/majordomo. The Vulcan hadn't made a sound, but James always knew when he was nearby. He'd been working for James, or rather for James' mother, since James was fourteen years old, after all. If you didn't count his mother, who had actually given birth to him, Spock was the person who had known him the longest.

"Yes, sir."

James waited as the Vulcan continued to stand behind him, not moving to go to his cabin. There wasn't much that the staid Vulcan didn't know about James and vice versa, and James always knew when Spock had something to say to him, even without him saying anything.

Sighing, James turned his head. "Go ahead, you might as well tell me whatever it is that you want to tell me."

"There is nothing I wish to tell you, sir, except to wish you a good night," the Vulcan replied.

James snorted. It always came down to semantics with Spock. "Fine, then ask whatever you want to ask."

This time, Spock paused thoughtfully, his arms clasped behind his back and his tilted slightly as he met James' eyes. "I simply wished to enquire if you are enjoying your vacation, sir."

Well, that was to the point, as usual, James thought sardonically. Turning to face the front of the boat, James shrugged. "Not really, but you already knew that."

"Indeed," Spock admitted. "I had assumed, after your declaration to your mother that this trip would be of a more…intimate nature."

"Oh, it's been intimate all right," James laughed humorlessly. Barely a week into their vacation Gary had met and invited Mallory and her friends on board. James had been okay with it at first. After all, over the course of their relationship there'd been more than the occasional female partner thrown into the mix for the fun of it. He liked women, after all. He liked them a lot. But this time it just wasn't working for him.

"Those are not the intimacies to which I was referring," Spock told him frankly.

"I know," James replied in frustration. "I just…" he trailed off helplessly. He just felt that at twenty-six he was outgrowing the need to party with and shag everyone who offered themselves to him. He had thought that maybe there was something between him and Gary and that some time together, just the two of them, might be just the thing to take their relationship to the next level, like he had intimated to his mother.

Quick fucks in empty boardrooms and James' office had been exciting, and there was no denying that he and Gary had great chemistry, in and out of the bedroom, but James was beginning to want more. He wasn't sure what exactly that more was, but he had thought that maybe what was between him and Gary transcended a typical fuck.

"Might I make an observation, sir?" Spock inquired when James didn't say anything, only continued to stare out into the darkness of the river.

"Sure."

"Some things cannot be forced," he offered. "And those things that you really want, come much quicker when you are not searching so hard for them."

"Am I that transparent?" James asked in annoyance.

"No," Spock told him. "I believe the majority of the people who know you believe the persona that you have built up. But I have known you longer. It will happen James. I believe that."

"Like you and Nyota?" James taunted, only because he was feeling sorry for himself and he wasn't exactly fond of getting advice from his emotionally constipated Vulcan butler, especially when he knew the bastard was right.

There was no sound from behind him, but James was sure that Spock had stiffened even more so than usual.

"I have no comment on the matter," Spock told him, his voice proper, but James could hear his sudden displeasure. "I will now retire for the evening."

Nyota Uhura was his mother's housekeeper and personal secretary. She and Spock had been circling each other for years, and while James had never caught them being anything but professional towards each other, there was definitely an odd vibe whenever they were in a room together.

"Hey, Spock," James called out to the retreating butler. "I promise, when I finally settle down I will do whatever I can to steal Uhura from my mother," he offered with a conciliatory smile.

Spock turned and bowed slightly. "Good evening, sir," he intoned before turning once again moving towards his berth on the lower deck.

"Good night, Spock," Jim said softly.

A deep throated laugh followed by a falsetto giggle drifted through the heavy air. James sighed and stood up. He'd been bitchy after dinner, demanding that he be given space, which was tough to do on a boat this size. Dinner had been beef Wellington, fresh asparagus and new baby potatoes served in the actual dining area rather than on plates taken to any part of the boat. Unfortunately, he'd been the only one sober enough to enjoy it and while he had dressed for dinner, albeit causally, no one else had. Gary had deigned to button up his shirt, but the girls had remained in their bikinis, sipping on cocktails and laughing uproariously as they picked at what was a truly excellent meal.

Gary had sensed his rising temper and herded the girls to one of the cabins, suggesting that they watch a vid. Then he'd taken James up top, given him a brief shoulder massage, reminded him that this was what they had planned, and then told him to join them when he found his good humor again, before going below. James hadn't known whether to be stunned or livid, so instead he had stretched out and stared at the sky.

Finally ready to go downstairs and see what Gary was up to, James hadn't even made it two steps before he felt his personal PADD vibrate in his pocket.

"What now?" he muttered under his breath. He'd given strict instructions to his secretary, Riley, that he wasn't to be disturbed unless it was a dire emergency. He'd been checking the business sites on his PADD, so he knew that there was nothing he needed to worry about. "Ah, hell," he swore when he saw who the caller was.

Returning to the bow of the boat and sitting down heavily, his head resting on one hand, he answered the call. "Hello Mother, and how are you this fine evening?" he asked unctuously.

"Do not use that tone with me James," his mother told him firmly. "I won't stand for it."

"Fine," James replied, with a smirk. "How's it hanging, Winona?" He heard her huffing laugh and almost smiled. His relationship with his mother was an odd one. They had never been close, but as he entered his twenties and began to take his place in Kirk Enterprises and show promise, they had become better acquaintances and found that they could work together well enough. He treated her more like a benevolent boss and she treated him like a prized protégé. It was when she tried to be his mother that they had problems.

"You are impossible and I really shouldn't encourage such behavior," she told him sternly, though he could tell that she was trying not to smile.

"It's all part of my charm," James told her easily.

"I imagine it is," she said dryly, "but I didn't call to discuss your peculiar brand of charm this evening."

James held back a sigh. It was going to be one of _those_ conversations. Sitting back he dropped his head against the railing, looking up at the stars once more. "Then why did you call, Winona?"

"James, this is a personal conversation," she said, a slight pout in her tone. She'd never been much of a mother while he was growing up, but she'd tried occasionally. It just never lasted very long and James had learned to be wary of those times. They never boded well for him. "I wish you wouldn't call me that."

"Fine, _mom_," Jim said sarcastically. "How would you like to interfere with my life this evening?"

She tutted, but ignored his comment. "I simply wanted to know how you're doing and if your little vacation is going as planned," she told him primly.

"I'm sure that's what you wanted to know," Jim replied sarcastically. After the rather spectacular end to their last conversation, Jim was sure that his current happiness with his vacation plans was not part of her agenda.

"Honestly James, I'm your mother," she said, like she had to remind him of that fact. "I worry about you. After what you said before you left New York, you can't blame me for wondering."

James just shook his head. "I'm fine. Georgia's hot and humid and the lake is surprisingly cold."

"And how's Gary?" she finally asked when he didn't say anything more.

"He's fine," James told her, trying to keep his temper in check. "He's down below. You want me to go get him so you two can have a chat?"

His mother tutted at him again. "Really, James. Do stop baiting me."

"It's not like I don't know how you feel about him, Mother," James said.

"What?" she asked innocently. "He's a brilliant marketer. Extremely creative and charismatic. He appears to be an excellent employee."

"An excellent employee," James repeated, shaking his head, "but not son-in-law material, huh?"

"_James_," Winona warned.

"_Mother_," he parroted.

She heaved a put upon sigh. "All right, do you really want to know how I feel about Gary?"

James gave a snort. As if she was ever afraid to tell him how she felt about anything. "By all means," he replied acerbically.

"He has a brilliant mind for marketing; genius even," she began. "And on a business level you and he seem to be a perfect match. With his ability to gauge the public mind and your business acumen, you're a force to be reckoned with. The two of you could take Kirk Enterprises farther than I've ever dreamed. But with him behind you, as an advisor, a member of the board, maybe, not as your…your…"

"Partner?" Jim filled in for her.

"Exactly," she agreed. "He's not what you need in a partner or a spouse. He's not what I want for you."

"What _you_ want for me?" James said caustically. "What about what _I_ want for me?" he demanded.

"James, honey, you don't even know what you really…"

"I am not a child," James snapped.

"I know," Winona said soothingly, in the voice she had often used in his childhood. It only made his hackles rise. "But you know that sometimes people only see you for your name, for what you stand to inherit. Gary was barely with the company a month before he was sniffing around you. Don't make the same mistake you did with Carol. There's no need to rush things."

James laughed bitterly. Of course she would bring up Carol. "I can pretty much guarantee you that Gary's not pregnant, Mother," he told her.

"Well, of course he's not," she snapped back. "But that doesn't mean he's not playing the same game she was. Tell me James, has Gary ever even been in a relationship with a man before you? How often does he suggest bringing other partners to your bed? Someone who's willing to share…"

"I am not discussing my sex life with you, Mother," James said angrily, mad that she had actually hit too close to the mark with her questions, "unless you want me to remind you about your track record when it comes to picking partners. Frank was a real winner. And Charles wasn't much better."

"Don't you talk to me like that, young man!" she snapped shrilly. "I know I will never be able to apologize enough for the mistakes I made when you were a child, but at least I didn't marry them."

James shook his head, closing his eyes as he did his best to reign in his temper. "This conversation is over."

"James," she tried again, her voice softer than he'd ever heard. "Love can't be forced. You can work at it with someone, but it has to come naturally first and I just think you're forcing…"

"Good night, Mother," James interrupted her, ending the call. "Damn it!" he swore as he threw his PADD angrily onto the deck of the boat. That was not what he needed to hear. He'd been having enough problems with the way things were going with Gary, but to hear it from both his mother and Spock in the space of ten minutes was not fair.

Taking a deep breath, he cleared his mind like Spock had taught him. He and Gary had something together. He'd felt it. Things were just a bit…undefined at the moment. He'd allowed others to enter their bedroom, so to speak. He'd just have to draw the line. If Gary wanted something more with him, then he'd be fine with it just being the two of them. After all, he'd never been with one of the women without James being there too.

Things were fine, James told himself. He nodded to Manny as he passed him on the deck and descended into the interior of the boat to his – their – bedroom. Things were going to be just fine, once he and Gary talked. He was sure of it.

"Oh, hell no," James said as soon as he opened the door to his room. Seeing Gary laying out on their bed with two girls – Molly and Candace, he guessed, they really were interchangeable in his mind – one of them mouthing his cock through his swim trunks and the other doing her best to wrap her tongue around his tonsils, was like a punch to the gut. In that split second he realized he'd been fooling himself all along.

"James my boy!" Gary grinned over at him, his eyes heavy lidded with alcohol and maybe something more. "Come join us."

"I don't think so," James replied coolly, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the door frame. "Out," he ordered the two girls.

The one who was playing tonsil hockey pouted at him. "But James…"

"Yeah, but James," Gary cajoled. "Come on man, we got two hot girls who will do anything we ask and the night is young."

James didn't know why he was surprised by the feeling of disappointment, but he was. His hope that tonight would be just them, him and Gary, was not just dashed, but utterly shattered. Apparently Gary had other ideas, and was more than willing to entertain others without James being present. He probably had all along, James admitted. He was suddenly angry with himself for letting this go on for as long as he had.

"No thanks," he smirked disdainfully, rallying and making sure his face didn't show how devastated he really felt. "I don't feel like having my cock rot off anytime soon, since one of your hot girls apparently brought a STI on board with her. I'm not interested in any more hyposprays."

"Yeah, but the doc fixed it. It's all good. He was pretty hot, too," Gary leered. "Almost as hot as Mandy and Molly, here." He reached out and patted each of them on the head like they were well-behaved pets.

"Gary, I'd like to speak with you now, up top," James said in his boardroom voice, not brooking any argument. Turning away, he stalked down the hallway and through the kitchen, hearing Gary reassure the girls that he'd be 'right back, once I get him sorted.' The girls' giggling response had James seeing red. When had things gone so wrong?

"Manny, moor the boat, leave the lights on and go down below, we'll stay here tonight," James ordered as he passed the other man at the controls. "And try not to startle Spock again," he added with an attempt at humor. "Remember he probably has his ear buds in, listening to that mediation crap he likes. I don't want another incident of you being accidently knocked out because he wasn't expecting you."

"Yez zir," Manny immediately replied, a sheepish look on his face. He was quick and efficient shutting down the boat, passing Gary on the stairwell as the other made his inebriated way up.

"What the hell is your problem, Kirk?" Gary opened the argument before James could say anything. "You've been in a pissy mood all week. What's got your panties in a twist?"

"My problem?" James asked, his voice low, knowing it was going to carry in the still air and not wanting the other occupants of the boat to overhear them. He went over to the radio and turned on the music, turning the volume down only slightly before turning back to Gary. "What's my problem? You are. And this trip is. Jesus, Gary, this was supposed to be a boat trip with just us, remember? Two guys on a boat, lots of alcohol, fishing; doing whatever the hell we wanted for a couple months."

Gary nodded. "Yeah, I remember. And that's exactly what we're doing, ain't it?"

"With four half naked women," James said in exasperation. "That's not exactly just you and me."

Lurching over to the cooler, Gary pulled out a bottle beer and popped the top. "Eh," he waved dismissively. "What's a guy's boat trip without a little pussy? You like pussy, don't you, Kirk? Always seemed to me you did."

"Yeah, I like pussy," James replied caustically. "When I know it and I can trust it. Who the hell are these girls?"

"Are you still going on about what the doc said?" Gary asked, stumbling back over to stand close enough to James that he could feel the other man's body heat and smell the miasma of alcohol and sweat hovering around him. "So you had a little STI, no biggie, it's fixed."

James ground his teeth. "That's not the point Gary. Who are they? How did they so conveniently show up at our first stop? And why the hell did you want to come to Georgia of all places?" He threw up his arms in frustration. "We could be cruising the Gulf, the two of us, pulling into any port we wanted to, rather than trolling through these backwater lakes and rivers."

"Jealous?" Gary asked with a smirk.

"Who are they?" James repeated stonily.

Gary sized him up blearily, still sober enough to know when James wasn't going to give up. He shrugged. "Mallory's an old friend from college. Candy, too. Molly and Mandy are friends of theirs who like to have a good time."

"Old girlfriends?" James couldn't help asking.

Gary looked at him speculatively. "Jealous?" he asked again, his eyebrow raised as he lifted his beer and took a long pull.

James pursed his lips, but didn't say anything, which was enough for Gary.

"Jesus, you are," he laughed. "Man, it's been all cock, all ass for months, don't tell me you don't miss a little pussy now and then. You said you were bi, after all."

"I am, but that has nothing to do with it," James said stiffly. He was angry, but he didn't know who he was most angry with, himself or Gary. He'd really let himself be led by the nose on this one. Not even Carol had fucked him over this harshly. He didn't even want to think about what he'd said to his mother about Gary possibly being 'the one' for him. He'd said it before about Carol, but at least he'd had a reason since she'd just told him she was pregnant. He'd wanted to show that he was committed to her and the baby; hell, he'd yearned for the commitment. Fat lot of good it did him when it became apparent that the baby wasn't even his.

Now, he was doing the same thing with Gary; wanting something that wasn't really there to begin with. Sure, they were good in bed together, and they were amazing business partners, bouncing ideas off each other like a tennis match at Wimbledon. But that didn't make a relationship; not a real one. A lesson James should have learned when he was twenty.

All those months of talking and fucking and dreaming together, and it had apparently meant nothing to Gary. What had his therapist said? He had a sublimated desire for permanence because of the way he had romanticized his parent's relationship, letting himself believe that the reason his mother was the way she was, was because she had loved his father too much and was forever mourning his loss. He may act like a cut throat businessman, but in truth he was just a needy fuck who latched on to people in the hope of something more.

He'd let Carol drag him around for a few weeks after he'd discovered her deception, but not this time. He was James T. Kirk, heir of Kirk Enterprises, and he was not going to be played any longer.

"This is over, Gary," James said.

Gary looked at him curiously. "What? The trip?"

"The trip," James nodded. "Our friendship, or relationship, or whatever you want to call it. It's all over. I'll let you keep your position at Kirk Enterprises," he added offhandedly, "if you agree to part amicably."

"Now, wait," Gary stumbled over to him, a look of panic in his eyes. "James my boy, let's…"

"Don't call me that," James said stiffly.

"Fine, James, but you've got it all wrong," Gary told him, reaching for James' arm. "The girls and everything, they were for you. You said you were bi and I didn't want you to get tired of me and…"

"Just stop it, Gary," James said in disgust, stepping away from him. "I have to admit, you were good," he added bitterly. "I almost…I thought we could…" he closed his eyes and shook his head. "I hate it when Mother is right," he whispered to himself.

"But she's not, James," Gary lunged at him. "She's not. We're good together. We're awesome. We can take Kirk Enterprises across the galaxy. Open up new worlds and new markets."

"No _we_ can't," James told him, grappling to try to get Gary to release him. "I can, though. And I will. Alone."

That stunned Gary enough to make him pause, his face morphing into a mask of anger. "No you don't you little shit. I did not take it up the ass for over a year for you to…" wildly, he began to pace the deck, running his hands through his hair. "I'm so close. I almost have it. I'm not going to let you do this. Not now," he muttered to himself.

James felt a pit open up in his stomach. It had never meant anything to Gary. He was just a means to an end. What exactly that end was, James was going to find out soon enough, but until then he'd let Gary think he could keep his position. "Then I guess you should have played your hand a little better, huh, Gary?" he taunted bitterly. "Should have taken it up the ass for another couple weeks, left the girls out of it. As it is, tomorrow you and your friends are going to be dropped off at the next decent-sized town. I'll make sure you have enough money to get home. And you will never speak to me unless it is in an official capacity, do you understand me?"

"James," Gary whined, his eyes shiny. "Please," he reached out a hand in supplication.

"It's over Gary," James told him once more before he turned around and started to make his way back into the boat.

"The hell it is," Gary growled. Before James could react, Gary bashed him over the head with his beer bottled, catching him as he crumpled. "This is not how it ends. I say when it ends, damn it!" Dragging James' dead weight, Gary gripped his wrists and dropped him over the side, before hurrying to the controls and starting the boat's engines. He didn't even look back as it slowly moved downstream.

"Spock, my man!" Gary said cheerfully as he emerged from the master cabin, sniffing eagerly at the breakfast Manny was cooking. "Have you seen James? The jerk left me hanging last night."

"I have not seen Mr. Kirk this morning," Spock said stiffly, pausing as he was setting the table, he looked over at Gary. "I assumed he was in his cabin…with you."

"Nope, haven't seen him since last night. We had a couple drinks up top." Sitting at the table, he reached for the scrambled eggs. He stopped, spoon in the air as if an idea had just occurred to him. "Holy shit, he did it!"

"Did what, might I ask?" Spock intoned.

Gary just shook his head in wonder. "He was all hot over that doctor fellow yesterday. Kept on going on and on about his eyes and his hands. I said if he was that interested he should just go back and bang the guy. I guess he took my advice. Ain't that a laugh," Gary chuckled as he put down the eggs and reached for some bacon. "You're sure you haven't seen him?"

"Positive."

"Well, he must have done it then."

"We are approximately five point two miles downstream from Teaksville. How exactly was he planning to find this doctor again?"

Gary paused, chewing slowly. "Well, that's a good question. I imagine he swam for it. We were only about ten feet from shore last night, after all. He always was one for the dramatic, especially when he's drunk."

"I see," Spock commented, his eyes never leaving Gary. "Then it is best that we head back to Teaksville and wait for him."

Waving his fork, Gary shook his head dismissively. "I doubt that's what he wants. I think it will take more than one go around with that doctor, if you know what I mean," he grinned wolfishly.

"Indeed."

"And besides, we've got to go meet Amber at that one town…Uh, Cumming, that's it," he laughed. "Awesome name for a town, if you ask me. James will contact us when he wants to be picked up, or meet us somewhere. He's done it before Spock. Remember that time in Madrid? The bastard ended up all the way in Athens because he followed a piece of ass. Didn't see him for six weeks, at least."

"That is correct," Spock conceded, though his head was now cocked slightly as he continued to watch Gary eat. "He did, in fact, tell us he would be leaving, though. And he did contact us periodically."

"I'm sure he will this time too," Gary agreed. "First the fucker's got to hike into Hicksville. Five point two miles, you say? That's going to be tough barefoot. Luckily he's going to see a doctor." Gary laughed some more, slamming his hand on the table. "I guess I'm in charge now, right Spock?"

One of Spock's eyebrows rose to his hairline before he nodded slightly. "Indeed, Mr. Mitchell."

"Excellent!" Gary declared. "Set a course for Cumming, Mr. Spock," he laughed again. "We got a lot of partying to do in the mean time."

"Of course, sir," Spock bowed, before turning and going down to his cabin near the engines.

_Please review_


	3. Chapter 3

**Title**: Overboard (remix) 3/6

**Author**: RogueAngel

**Rating**: PG-13

**Characters/pairings**: Jim/Bones, with appearances of Spock, Gary Mitchell, Scotty, Sulu, Chekov and Winona. Passing mentions of Rand, Chapel, Uhura, and Riley.

**Word count**: 34,000+ (I just can't write short fics!)

**Chapter 3**

Leonard had just finished cleaning up the breakfast dishes and shooed the boys out of the house and into the backyard. He was enjoying a cup of coffee, and the silence, while he perused his 'to do' list with a frown. There was a lot to do and he really had no desire to do any of it. The house and the land had come with the medical practice he'd purchased, and while Doc Matthews had been a decent doctor, he'd been a horrible home owner.

A lot of the problems were cosmetic, nothing a little paint and spackle couldn't fix, but the house was at least fifty years out of date; with the kitchen and bathrooms needing more work than Leonard felt comfortable doing himself. There wasn't one appliance in the whole place that wasn't held together with duct tape, baling wire, rubber bands and a prayer. The plumbing worked, and the power had stopped surging finally after the third repairman that he'd called in from the next town over. He'd had to pay double the going rate, but at least the generator was working, if not at peak levels.

The floors were a mess, scratched up by the dozen or so dogs that Doc Matthews had owned and that meant that the yard was mess of dead grass and shit piles. The whole place had an eau de dog smell that caught Leonard by surprise every time he walked in the place. He could only imagine what it would smell like if the enviro controls broke and the general humidity of the area seeped in. Wet dog was not something he enjoyed.

And speaking of wet, he was pretty sure the roof needed replacing. They'd only had one brief afternoon shower since they'd moved in, but there were suspicious looking spots on the walls and ceiling in the boy's bedroom that did not bode well. He had enough money to fix the place up. He just didn't have the time. He couldn't expect to have the babysitter oversee all the repairs that needed to be done, that was bit above and beyond, what with have to watch the boys, too.

With a growl, Leonard realized that he'd have to put 'find a babysitter' on his list now that Janice had apparently quit for good. School was out in a week or so and there was no way Christine was going to let him bring the boys to the office with him. She was a damned good nurse and she had tolerated them well enough for two days while he hired Janice, but he didn't want to push his luck. Losing a babysitter was one thing, losing a nurse was totally different. Maybe he should put some ads in the Gainesville newspaper. He could probably clean out the small office space behind the kitchen and make it livable for some college kid. That could get him through the summer and give him time to find someone local.

He was just pulling up the Gainesville news on his PADD when he heard the sound of a car coming up his driveway. One of the things he had liked about this house was that it sat on ten acres of land and the nearest neighbor was at least a half mile away. After all the scrutiny he'd suffered through in Atlanta, the peace and quiet was nice.

Standing up, he went out onto the porch, surprised to see the sheriff pulling up. He had a moment of panic wondering what the boys could have gotten up to, but then quelled it. He didn't think he had to worry about the boys being picked up by the sheriff and his deputies just yet.

He liked to think that they were smart enough not to get caught when the time came, which he was sure it would given Monty's predilection for messing with machines and causing minor explosions. He cringed at what Hikaru and Pavel would come up with as they got older. Despite their innocent little faces they had bright and inquisitive minds – and Hikaru was just a little too interested in chopping things up in the kitchen. An eight year old shouldn't be that good with knives.

"Morning, Doc," the older man called, as he got out of his car, engine still running. Leonard could see someone sitting in the backseat, their head bowed. "Got something a little strange for you."

"Really?" Leonard asked politely. "Coffee?" he waved toward the house. His mama had taught him to always offer refreshments to his visitors.

"Thank you kindly, but not at this time," the sheriff replied, climbing the porch steps and removing his hat.

"Well then what can I do for you?"

"We had a call in early this morning about a half naked man stumbling along the low road by the river," he began, glancing over at the car and then back at Leonard. "We found him about five miles south of town sitting on a stump, his feet all torn up. He barely responded to any of the questions we asked – who he was, where he was from, what he was doing walking around barefoot in the middle of nowhere. He's a pretty fella, with big blue eyes," he added offhandedly, scratching his head. "I don't think Louisa Hawkins would have reacted so badly if she'd gotten a good look at him.

"Anyways, one of my deputies noticed that he had a fairly big knot on the back of his head, said we should take him to see you Doc, and wouldn't you know it, the kid perked right up. Even said your name. Since then he hasn't done much but bitch and complain about everything, but I figure from the look in his eyes and the knot on his head he musta got amnesia."

"Got a medical degree, do you now, sheriff?" Leonard asked sarcastically, one eyebrow quirking up.

The man rocked back on his heels, shaking his head thoughtfully. "Well, no. But I've been around a bit and that boy is not all there, if you take my meaning. No one in their right mind would be so rude to someone who's just trying to help him, after all. He's not from around these parts, so that might account for it." He shrugged in dismissal of bad manners.

"He seemed to know your name, so…here we are." He waved his hand indicating the parked car and its occupant. "Besides, his head needs looking at and it was just as easy to bring him here as it was to call you to your office. I know you got them boys to watch out for; can't be leaving them alone for long, now, can you?"

Leonard gave a noncommittal grunt. The one thing about small town life was that even if you lived miles away from everyone else, they all too soon learned your business. He imagined Janice was having a right good time spreading tales about the boys, especially now that she was officially no longer working for him. He might have to branch out farther than Gainesville to find someone to watch them now.

"Why thank you, sheriff, for your kindness," Leonard told the older man, managing to sound polite enough. "Why don't you go get this injured man and bring him inside? I'll go get my bag."

His medical bag was on the floor by the front door where he always left it, but Leonard wanted a few moments to observe this 'pretty fella with big blue eyes.' He watched as the sheriff opened the back door to his car and coaxed the younger man out. Leonard almost felt giddy, a wicked smile crossing his lips as he was hit by a sudden idea. He'd have to play it by ear, but if it worked, he'd get back what he lost in a half day of waiting on the arrogant little prick and his hedonistic friends.

Gone was the confident bastard from yesterday. Instead James Kirk looked confused, but irritated, as he looked around Leonard's unkempt front yard with disdain.

Ignoring the twinge of conscience, he strode out onto the porch and gave what he hoped was a convincing gasp of recognition. "Jim! Where the hell have you been?" he exclaimed, striding across the lawn and pulling the startled man into his arms. "You said you were going jogging last night and this morning I was so worried!" he pulled back and looked at the stunned face of James Kirk. "I'm so glad you're all right, darlin'!"

"Excuse me?" Kirk looked at him in confusion, his brows furrowing. "Do I know you?"

"Know me? Why sheriff, I think you were right," Leonard turned towards the bemused older man. "It must be amnesia for Jimmy here to forget his own fiancé."

"Fiancé?" Kirk mouthed slowly. "What? Who? I…"

"Now don't you worry Jimmy, I'll fix you up right quick," Leonard said condescendingly, patting him on the arm, before turning back to their audience. "Thank you so much sheriff. I wasn't going to let myself worry until later on this afternoon. My boy here loves to go on his runs, you know."

"So you do know this man?" the sheriff asked, a look of relief crossing his face.

"I do," Leonard nodded.

"I do not!" Kirk protested. "I…I think I'd remember being…being…engaged to someone! Wouldn't I?" he looked over at the sheriff helplessly.

"Dunno know," the man shrugged. "I'm just the law. I don't know much about doctoring."

"It's that bump on your head, darlin'," Leonard said soothingly, wrapping his arm around Kirk's waist. "Why don't you come inside and…"

"No!" Kirk pulled away and Leonard felt a moment of panic. Maybe this wasn't a good idea. Maybe he'd pushed too hard. "How do you know I know this man?" he asked the sheriff almost hysterically. "I…I don't know him. I don't!"

"Now son," the sheriff said soothingly, "this is Doc McCoy. When you heard his name you perked right up. You telling me it ain't familiar now?"

"McCoy, McCoy," Kirk repeated quietly to himself, squinting at Leonard and frowning slightly, whether from a headache or because he was trying to place Leonard in his memories.

"That's me," McCoy grinned and nodded encouragingly. "Doctor Leonard McCoy."

There was a brief look of recognition on Kirk's face; even the sheriff didn't miss it.

"That's familiar to you boy, isn't it?"

"A bit," Kirk conceded petulantly, "maybe. Who am I?"

"You're Jim," Leonard immediately replied.

"Jim what?" Kirk snapped at him, giving him a piercing look that was totally reminiscent of their interaction yesterday when he'd sic'd his pet Vulcan on him.

"Jim…" Leonard floundered for a moment. "Jim…Kevorkian."

"Jim Kevorkian?" Kirk asked with a moue of disgust on his face. "No, no. That doesn't sound…that's not right," he shook his head and then flinched as the movement jarred his injury.

"Well, you've never really liked your name, bad family connotations and all that," Leonard told him, trying to hold back a grin. This was kind of fun, seeing Kirk off balance, if you ignored all the moral and ethical issues. "Once we get married you were planning to change it to McCoy, like a proper spouse."

Kirk looked stunned and the sheriff didn't quite manage to muffle his laugh, which earned him a blue-eyed glare.

"This doesn't prove anything!" Kirk declared as he actually stomped his foot in the dirt. "He could be some mad man who takes advantage of people who lose their memories or he could be a…a…killer or a rapist or…"

"Now, now, Jim," the sheriff stepped forward to try to soothe the younger man. Seriously, southern belles had nothing on James Kirk. "Doc McCoy is a fine upstanding citizen of this town. Sure, he's new, but we all like him."

"Well, that's just fine, you all like him," Kirk retorted peevishly, crossing his arms over his bare chest.

"Doc Matthews wouldn't sell his practice to a deviant," the sheriff continued, as if Kirk hadn't spoken. "The doc's a good man."

"Thank you," Leonard said graciously, still watching Kirk and trying not to grin like a fool.

"I want real proof!" Kirk declared shrilly, his voice rising an octave.

The sheriff sighed, scratching thoughtfully at the scruff on his chin. "I believe you, doc, I do," he finally said, "but I'm afraid I'm going to need something."

Kirk and the sheriff looked at him expectantly. For a moment, Leonard's mind went blank, but then Kirk began to smirk and that just ticked him off to no end. Even without his memory he was a cocky little bastard.

"Well, as you know sheriff, I've only been here for a couple of weeks," he began, "and not all my stuff has been shipped from Atlanta, so I don't have the PADD that contains the letters that Jimmy and I have been sending back and forth. There were some pictures, too," Leonard added sotto voice, "but I'm not one to share things like that, if you know what I mean." Both men looked over at Kirk, Leonard with a barely contained smirk, and the sheriff with a knowing grin.

"I don't know anything about any letters or…or pictures," Kirk declared, a blush staining his checks.

"I imagine he's mighty photogenic," the sheriff commented to Leonard, with a manly nudge of his elbow.

"That he is, sheriff," Leonard winked.

"Excuse me, I'm still here," Kirk interrupted them with an annoyed frown. "And letters and pictures that he doesn't have aren't proof, sheriff."

The sheriff nodded. "He has a point, doc. You got anything else?"

Leonard sighed theatrically. "Well, I don't like bringing other people into our business," he said reluctantly, "but Jimmy and I," he almost laughed at Kirk's response to the name, his nose wrinkling in distaste, "have been, let's say, estranged for a bit. I didn't think he was ready to settle, though it was him that begged me to marry him."

Kirk gave him an astonished look.

"That so," the sheriff commented thoughtfully.

"That's so," Leonard nodded. "It was a whirlwind romance, so to speak and when he proposed, well, I eventually accepted, after a lot of begging and pleading, but only if he agreed to a long engagement."

"Well, that is a right good idea, doc," the sheriff agreed. "You do have the little ones to think of."

Kirk's confusion was obvious at the mention of little ones, but Leonard continued.

"It's been a couple months since I last saw him, but he came knocking on my door last night. I was thrilled to see him, we'd had an argument the last time about his tendency to…well, that's between us, sheriff, I'm a gentleman and I won't go into details, but last night ended in another argument when I realized he'd gone and caught a STI."

"A what now?"

"A sexually transmitted infection," Leonard said in a heavy voice.

"He was stepping out on you?" the sheriff asked indignantly.

"It would seem so," Leonard agreed. "But I fixed him up and we had words and we were going to discuss things more in the morning. He went for a run last night to work off some energy and like I said earlier, I wasn't going to worry unless he wasn't home by lunchtime."

Leonard ended his story and he and the sheriff both turned to look at Kirk who looked confused and bewildered. Really he was surprised that either man was falling for his raft of bullshit. It sounded farfetched even to his own ears.

"I don't…I don't remember any of that and I…that's not proof," Kirk said in an uncomfortable voice, looking between Leonard and the sheriff with a bewildered expression. He was obviously becoming overwhelmed with the so-called details of his life.

"The boy's right, Doc," the sheriff said. "Where's that proof you were talking about? I don't doubt the boy's a runner, he's got those long, skinny chicken legs that hard core runners tend to get."

"Hey!" Kirk protested.

"But it ain't proof," the sheriff finished.

"Well, one of the symptoms of the STI he caught is a slight rash on the penis. It should be fairly faded by now, but still noticeable, particularly around the glans."

"The what?"

"The head," Leonard clarified. "And if that isn't enough, he's got a scar along the top of his right thigh, about two inches long, from here to here," he ran his finger along his own thigh to demonstrate.

They looked expectantly at Kirk. Leonard couldn't help raising an eyebrow in silent challenge.

"I'm not dropping my pants in front of both of you!" Kirk argued.

"I've never known you to be so shy, Jimmy," Leonard couldn't help commenting. "You dropped your pants not two minutes after meeting me. It left quite an impression," he leaned companionably towards the sheriff, his voice lowering. "The kid's got a good set on him, I'm pleased to say."

"Excuse me," Kirk interrupted crossly before the sheriff could comment. "Would you please stop talking about my…my…me like that."

"Of course, Jimmy," Leonard said in a placating tone. "It must be the head wound," he whispered to the sheriff. "He's never like this. Got an exhibitionist streak in him a mile wide."

Kirk glared, but the sheriff waved him off. "I don't need a show boy, just turn around and check for yourself. I'm sure it will be proof enough for you."

Giving a loud, indignant huff, Kirk turned around and undid the drawstring of his pants. Leonard watched, barely restraining a smile, as Kirk realized that what he had described was true. The look of stunned confusion on his face was priceless.

Opening his arms wide, Leonard grinned. "Come to daddy, darlin'. It's time to get you fixed up." As if in a trance Kirk walked slowly towards him, the sheriff helping him along. He was so stunned he even allowed Leonard to wrap an arm around his shoulders and pull him close. "Sheriff, I thank you for your time and I appreciate all you've done for us, but I'll take it from here."

Tipping his hat, the sheriff nodded and winked. "Best make sure he doesn't do any running any time soon, doc."

"Oh no," Leonard grinned. "I plan to keep him close to home." Tugging at Kirk, he led him slowly up the stairs and into the living room where the other man stopped dead.

"Oh my god, it smells," Kirk whispered, his hand coming up to cover his nose, his eyes huge as he took in the worn and outdated farmhouse.

"See there," Leonard squeezed his shoulder, "you're remembering already."

"This place is a pit."

"Now Jimmy," Leonard cajoled, leading him over and making him sit on the old couch that Doc Matthews had left behind and Leonard hadn't bothered to throw out yet. "You liked the look of this place when we discussed it. You said it was charming and that you'd enjoy the challenge of fixing it up."

"I did?" Kirk asked in a bewildered tone, still looking around, taking in the stains on the wall and boxes still piled everywhere.

"You sure did," Leonard told him, reaching for his tricorder. "I wasn't exactly sold, but you talked me into it. I spend most of my days at my practice, so I won't be able to help out much, but you assured me that fixing this place up was exactly what you wanted to do you with your life. Well, that and watch over the boys."

"The boys?" Kirk looked at him, his eyes flaring in panic.

The preliminary scan of Kirk's head was fine, no bleeding or intracranial swelling, nothing but a nasty knot and a bit of memory loss. He'd have to do some more in depth scans to see if he could pinpoint what caused that and maybe predict how long it would last. The study of head traumas had come a long way, but they still didn't know all the mysteries of the human brain.

"Three of them," Leonard continued cheerfully, and honestly it was beginning to wear on him. He was not by nature a cheerful person, but it seemed to be keeping Kirk off kilter, so he went with it for now. "All adopted. I'll introduce you to them later."

"Introduce? But I thought we… I mean if we were…if we're engaged…" he trailed off in confusion.

"Yeah, well, like I said it was a bit of a whirlwind romance, you and me," Leonard told him. "And long distance. Lots of letters. Lots of pictures. I didn't want the boys to get their hopes up in case things didn't work out. You coming down here was the sign. We didn't get a chance to talk this over last night, but I think it's best if we introduce you as the nanny. Keep things low key between us. I tell you, it's going to be hard to keep my hands off of you, but it might be best until your memory comes back."

"Yes, thank you…that would be…nice," Kirk nodded enthusiastically, a look of extreme relief on his face, before he winced in discomfort.

Leonard felt the other man stiffen as he reached into his medical bag.

"You aren't going to give me a hypospray, are you?" Kirk asked hesitantly, the fear obvious in his voice, his eyes wide as dinner plates.

"Of course not," Leonard said, his doctor's instincts kicking in as he soothed Kirk, patting his leg comfortingly. "I know you're allergic. I got some pain pills here. They'll make you a mite sleepy, but that's okay. You need rest and it will give me time to clean up your feet. Now lay down," Leonard said softly. He handed Kirk a pill and a glass of water that had been left on the end table. "Take this and just relax. I'll take care of you."

Leonard went into the kitchen and then the bathroom, grabbing some towels, soap and warm water. When he came back, Kirk was watching him, his eyes barely open. 

"You really do know me, don't you?" he asked sleepily.

"I do. Now close your eyes and sleep," he ordered, almost feeling sorry for the stupid kid. He picked up one of Kirk's dirty feet and placed it in his lap, already wringing out a warm towel to clean up the dirt and scratches.

Kirk didn't say another word. He just let out a soft sigh as he drifted off to sleep.

Leonard sat in the armchair across from the couch, listening with bemusement as the boys checked out their new babysitter who was still knocked out and snoring lightly.

"When's he gonna wake up?" Pavel asked for the third time in ten minutes.

"Not yet," Monty told him, his voice strained with patience as only an older brother's can be. "I already told you that. Leo said it would take some time for the medicine to wear off, right Leo?"

"That's right," Leonard agreed, not looking up from his PADD. He was working on another To Do list for Jim; a much more detailed and longer list than before. From the scans he took he was still unsure how long the memory loss would last, but he was going to make the most of it. A little work wouldn't hurt the kid and he could sure use the humility. There wasn't anything wrong with his brain. It was almost like he was blocking his own memories, so unless something serious came up, Leonard was going to make sure he got his money's worth.

"His eyes are moving!" Hikaru declared excitedly, practically bouncing on his bottom where he was seated on the coffee table next to Monty.

Creeping slowly forward, Pavel leaned in so that his nose was almost touching Jim's. "Hello?" he whispered loudly. "Are you awake yet?"

Jim flinched slightly, mumbling something and then turning his head towards the back of the couch, obviously trying to avoid waking up. It didn't faze Pavel in the least. The little boy reached out a hand and lifted one of Jim's eyelids.

"Gah!" Jim screeched, edging back into the corner of the couch and staring at Pavel as if he'd just been bit. "Who the hell are you?" he demanded.

"I'm Pavel," the child said proudly with a gap toothed smile. "You have pretty blue eyes."

Looking nonplussed, Kirk took in the three boys sitting in front of him, before searching frantically for Leonard. Once he caught sight of him, he relaxed slightly. "Thank you, Pavel. Yours are pretty too," he added awkwardly.

The little boy grinned brightly, and then without any hesitation climbed up onto Kirk's outstretched legs and settled himself in for a chat.

"I'm five," he told Jim. "And Hik'ru's eight and Monty's eleven," he said waving towards the other boys.

"I'm twelve," Monty corrected him in exasperation. "I had a birthday last month. And you missed lunch," he turned to Jim. "I saved you a sandwich but you slept so long that I ate it. I can make you another one, if you want."

"Uh…that's okay," Jim said slowly. "I'm not really that hungry."

Monty nodded. "That's fine. Just let me know. I'm good at sandwiches. All kinds. Even tuna. Leo's not so big on cooking."

"Hey," Leonard protested, poking Monty with his foot playfully. "If you three would eat more than sandwiches and mac and cheese, I might put in the effort. But we won't have to worry about that now."

"We won't?" Hikaru asked, his little head cocked curiously.

"Nope," Leonard smiled. "Jim's in charge of the cooking from now on."

"Yeah!" Pavel clapped.

"I am?" Jim asked, suddenly nervous.

Leonard nodded. "Well it only makes sense," he explained. "You were cooking for the field hands on the farm since you were Monty's age and when you ran away you worked as a line cook in what? Three or four different restaurants? Not that fast food takes a lot of expertise, but you did get that Employee of the Month award for being the best fry cook in two counties. After that it was onto that diner – the one where we met. You were so cute with that little white hat on while you were slinging that hash."

As he spoke, Kirk's face became more and more astonished. "Field hands? Fry cook? Hash?"

"Best hash I ever had," McCoy nodded gleefully at Kirk's discomfort.

"Is that why you asked him to come here and be our babysitter?" Hikaru asked curiously.

Leonard could have kicked himself, he was having so much fun baiting Kirk, he forgot that little ears were listening. Hikaru was the quiet one, not speaking nearly as much as Pavel and Monty, but nothing got by that boy. "That's right Hikaru," he agreed immediately. "It was so good I asked him to come down here to take care of us."

"Where are you from?" Monty asked, turning his attention back to Jim.

Kirk's eyes widened in panic. "Uh…" he stalled, looking desperately at Leonard.

"He's from Iowa," Leonard said, picking a state at random. Kirk kind of looked like a corn fed farm boy, maybe, if you squinted.

"Iowa?" Kirk mouthed, obviously trying out the sound of it.

Pavel shifted and bounced forward onto Jim's stomach, not interested in where the man was from. "Do you like games? I have Legos if'n you want to play with me. And Monty has a chemistry set, but Leo says he can only use it when he's home, but if you like it maybe you can play with him. And Hik'ru and me play spaceships sometimes and we like to play in the trees out back and we want to build a fort and maybe you can help us and…"

"Pavel, slow down," Leonard chuckled, finding it amusing to see a grown man shrinking away from a five year-old. "You need to give Jim a chance to answer."

Pavel nodded in agreement and then turned to Jim expectantly. "Well, do you?"

"Do I what?" Jim asked in puzzlement.

"Do you like playing games?" Pavel responded as if it was obvious.

Looking around at everyone staring at him, Jim looked totally mystified. "Yes?" he finally responded.

"Yeah!" Pavel yelled, bouncing on Kirk's stomach once more and making him wince. "I got a new game and it's really neat and we can play it now. Stay here and…"

"Pavel," Leonard interrupted him. "Let's leave Jim alone for now, okay? He had a pretty big bonk on the head so he's a little confused. Let's let him get settled in first, all right?"

Pavel's lower lip began to stick out, but he nodded slowly. "Okay Leo."

Kirk reached out and patted him on the shoulder clumsily. "I'm sure you can show me your game later, Pavel," Jim consoled him. "But right now I really need to use the bathroom and maybe have a look around."

"Okay, Jim," Pavel brightened immediately. "We can show you 'round and…"

"You three can go outside, or go play in your room," Leonard told him, but not harshly. "Jim and I need to talk a bit and get him settled. You have the whole summer together."

The boys looked excited at the idea, but Kirk's smile was decidedly frozen on his face as he nodded at them. Without another word, the three of them raced up the stairs to their room, already starting to plan their summer activities.

"They're good boys," Leonard found himself saying.

"Uh huh," Jim only nodded.

"Just really energetic. And intelligent."

"Sure."

"They mean well."

"Hmmmm."

"Anyway," Leonard said, standing up and drawing Kirk's attention away from where the boys were. "Let me show you the bathroom, get you some extra clothes and show you where you'll be sleeping. You didn't show up with anything last night, so I imagine you got kicked out again."

"Again?" Kirk repeated forlornly.

"It's a bad habit you got, kid," Leonard shook his head solemnly, "but I guess I can understand it with your upbringing and all."

"On a farm," Kirk stated, sounding like he didn't believe it at all.

"Well, you were only on the farm until you were fifteen, maybe sixteen. Then it was off to the big city for you," Leonard explained as he led Kirk towards kitchen. "Iowa City."

"Where I worked in fast food as a fry cook."

"Well, that wasn't the only thing you did," Leonard told him seriously while frowning slightly, "but I didn't want to mention it in front of the boys, you know?"

Kirk looked at him pitifully, picking up on what Leonard was implying without a problem.

"Hey now," Leonard turned back towards him, putting his hands on the younger man's shoulders and giving him a reassuring look. "That's water under the bridge, Jimmy. It took me a while to get past it, but I did. I understand why you did it. I'm just glad you gave up your habit. I can take care of you now, just like you'll be taking care of me and the boys. The past is gone. We got our future to look forward to. Just you and me and the boys. Maybe even a few more. You did say you were interested in the embryo pouch, right?"

"Uh…" Kirk looked too flabbergasted to say anything, his face going suddenly pale.

Leonard took pity on him. "Here's the kitchen, and back through here," he led Kirk through the small breakfast area and to a small hallway, "is your room. And the bathroom is right through there," he pointed to his right.

"This is my room?" Jim asked quietly, his eyes taking in the mess that was in front of him. There was an old futon, one Leonard had had since college, but it was buried under boxes and piles of old books and household stuff that Leonard hadn't found a place for yet.

"Well, I wasn't really expecting you," Leonard admitted honestly. "But you'll have plenty of time to clean up while the kids are in school this week. As a matter of fact, I was about to go into town and pick up the supplies you'll be needing."

"Supplies?" Kirk followed him out of his room and down the hall to Leonard's bedroom where he watched him dig through his dresser and closet.

"Yeah, supplies," Leonard repeated. "We're not really the same size, but these should do you just fine," he said, handing Kirk a pile of clothing and socks and underwear. "We'll have to see about getting you some shoes later. You won't need them right off, anyway, since you'll be focusing on the house first."

"I will?" Kirk asked in confusion as he followed Leonard into the living room, clothes clutched to his chest, looking so out of his depth that it was an effort for Leonard not to laugh. "Where are you going?" he said in a panicked voice when Leonard reached for his PADD.

"I'm going to get supplies, I told you that already, darlin'," Leonard said slowly. "Maybe your short term memory was affected worse than I thought." He reached out a hand towards Kirk's head.

"No, it's fine," Kirk brushed him off irritably. "I know you said you were going to get supplies, but for what? I don't understand."

Leonard looked at him in feigned surprise. "Why for all the cleaning and unpacking you'll be doing while the boys are in school. After that, we'll move on to the other things on the list." He made to move towards the front door.

"What will you be doing while I'm doing all this cleaning?" Kirk asked as he wedged himself in front of Leonard, blocking his way.

"I'll be working," Leonard said patiently. "I'm a doctor, remember. I have a practice and patients to see. That was our deal; I make the money, you take care of the house and the boys. Now move out of my way, darlin', it's a long list and it will probably take me awhile. I don't want to miss your first dinner here."

"Dinner?" Jim repeated, the panic back in his voice.

"Yes, dinner," Leonard said slowly. "The boys have to eat. I figure after you take a shower and change out of those filthy pants, you'll have time to have a look-see around the kitchen, give it a bit of spit and polish and then you can prepare dinner. The boys will help you find whatever you need. You can leave the serious cleaning for tomorrow. I imagine your head is still a bit sore."

Jim nodded, his eyes still looking beseechingly at Leonard. "Don't leave me alone with them," he finally pleaded.

"Now, Jimmy," Leonard shook his head like a disappointed parent. "That's no way to talk about our boys. They like you. I know it seems intimidating, but the best thing to do is just jump right in and get to know them; get into your routine, as it were."

"I don't know," Kirk said slowly, glancing all around like he was looking for an escape route. "Maybe I should lay down some more and…and rest."

"You already rested, Jim," Leonard told him. "What you need to do now is act. Trust me, you'll feel better." Leonard wasn't sure what made him do it, maybe it was the panicky look in Kirk's eyes, but he reached out and cupped Kirk's cheek, rubbing his thumb soothingly over the other man's cheek bone. "You'll be fine, Jimmy. Just fine."

For a moment Kirk looked like he might bolt, but then something settled in his eyes and his shoulders relaxed somewhat and damned if he didn't press his face into Leonard's hand briefly before pulling away.

"Okay," he nodded. "We'll be…we'll be fine until you get back. I guess Monty can help me make sandwiches," he rallied with a wry smile.

"Hikaru makes a mean salad, too," Leonard offered. Who would have thought…but he cut himself off. This was James Kirk, the little prick who had refused to pay him and taken up his entire afternoon, and that was before his pet Vulcan attacked him. He deserved what he was getting, Leonard reminded himself.

_Please review_


	4. Chapter 4

**Title**: Overboard (remix) 4/6

**Author**: RogueAngel

**Rating**: PG-13

**Characters/pairings**: Jim/Bones, with appearances of Spock, Gary Mitchell, Scotty, Sulu, Chekov and Winona. Passing mentions of Rand, Chapel, Uhura, and Riley.

**Word count**: 34,000+ (I just can't write short fics!)

**Chapter 4**

Leonard managed to stay away for almost three hours. The supplies had been easy enough. He'd gone to the local supermarket and gotten bulk sizes of every type of cleaner, several buckets, a mop, a broom, a dozen sponges and a virtual plethora of other cleaning gadgets, some of which he didn't even know what they were for. Then he'd stopped by his office and caught up on the comms and paperwork that were never ending. He also checked the cultures in the small backroom that doubled as his lab.

Everything was in order, so he decided it was time to head home and see how Kirk was coping. He had images in his mind of the man huddling in abject terror in his bedroom, or taped to some chair, or maybe the porch railing, with duct tape. He loved the boys, he did, but he knew that they were little trouble makers at heart and delighted in taking advantage of the weak and unsuspecting.

What met his eyes as he entered his home was rather surprising. The boys and Kirk were all lying on the floor playing one of Pavel's games. Leonard had played it a few times, but as far as he could tell the rules changed at Pavel's whim, though the other two boys didn't seem to notice or really care.

"I'm home," he called, letting the door slam behind them.

"Leo!" all three boys called out with happy smiles.

The look Kirk gave him was one of abject relief. "Can I help bring anything in?"

"Sure thing, Jim," Leonard tossed him his keys. "Everything's in the back. Just pile it in the kitchen, I guess. You can sort it tomorrow. Boys, what's the homework situation like? Anything I need to see?"

There was some grousing, but each boy went to get their backpack. They'd only been in their new school for two weeks, which was barely time enough for the teachers to get to know the boys, but he'd already had several notes sent home from the teachers listing issues from poor reading and basic math skills (Pavel) to daydreaming (Hikaru) and using forbidden materials to blow up a toilet (Monty). He knew he had his hands full, but with the summer only days away, he hoped he could put everything off for a bit longer. Surely after a few months they'd settle down and things would smooth out.

He watched out of the corner of his eye as Jim made trip after trip into the house with cleaning supplies, piling them into the kitchen. When he'd seen everything he needed to see from the boys he sent them upstairs to get ready for bed. Walking into the kitchen, he first saw the defeated slope of Kirk's shoulders as he stared at the pile of supplies.

"I wanted to make sure you had everything you might need," Leonard told him, clapping him firmly on the shoulder. The younger man was wearing an old pair of sweats and a college t-shirt that Leonard hadn't worn in years. They were a bit large, but not bad.

"Uh, thanks," Kirk finally said, offering him a wobbly smile over his shoulder.

It was then that Leonard looked around the kitchen and saw what Kirk had accomplished in the few hours he'd been gone. "Wow, I hardly recognize the place already," he commented in disbelief. All the dishes were actually done, the counters and breakfast table had been scrubbed, and the pile of boxes that were waiting to be unpacked had either been moved somewhere else or were actually unpacked. Amazing.

"So, what was for dinner?" Leonard asked.

Kirk gave him a wry look. "Bologna sandwiches, burnt mac and cheese and a salad."

"A McCoy family classic," Leonard nodded, grinning at Kirk, "except for the burnt part."

Kirk just rolled his eyes. "Did you eat?"

The question rather surprised Leonard. "I had an energy bar when I stopped by the office to check on my cultures."

Moving towards the refrigerator, Kirk made a 'tutting' sound with his tongue. "That's not much. There's some leftover salad," he said, grabbing a plastic covered bowl that Leonard didn't even recognize. "You like Italian or ranch?"

"Uh, ranch is good."

Not saying anything else, Kirk brought the bowl of salad over to the table, along with a fork and the dressing. "So, uh, what is a typical day like here? I mean when do the boys go to school and all that? What time do they come home? When do you work?"

"The bus comes by at 7:25 and I leave as soon as they do," Leonard told him, taking a bite of his salad. "They get home about 3:30, I think. I'm usually home by six or 6:30, depending on my last patient and how my labs are going."

"So you're not just making yogurt in your back office?" Jim asked, his lip quirked up slightly.

Leonard just stared at him until he finally got the joke. "No, I wouldn't recommend eating any of my cultures."

"Noted," Kirk nodded, as he stood up from the table and looked at Leonard awkwardly. "I guess I'll just…go dig out my bed and…and stuff."

"Sounds good," Leonard nodded. "I'll make sure to wash my dish."

Kirk shrugged. "Good night…Leonard," he said awkwardly, his bare feet making small slapping sounds as walked to his room off the kitchen.

"Good night, Jim," Leonard replied, but the other man was already gone.

Leonard was grouchy before he even rolled out of bed the next morning, going so far as to growl at himself in the mirror as he shaved. He could hear the boys chattering in the kitchen accompanied by the sounds of utensils and dishes clanking together. They were usually good about getting their own breakfasts. He could hear the deeper tones of Kirk's voice interspersed in their conversation.

Entering the kitchen, Leonard was completely taken aback to see all three boys sitting at the table, backpacks at their feet, all of them with bowls of what looked like oatmeal and glasses of juice in front of them. He'd never been able to get them to eat oatmeal, though he liked it on occasion. It was just too time-intensive to cook properly and a damn mess, besides. And to top it off he smelled fresh brewed coffee.

"Ah…" Jim paused awkwardly when he caught sight of Leonard standing in the doorway, his smile slipping away. "Good morning, Leonard," he nodded briefly as he put a spoonful of brown sugar on Pavel's oatmeal and offered Monty a small container of milk. "Would you like some coffee or…"

"Coffee's fine," Leonard growled, almost feeling bad to see Jim flinch at his harsh words. "And since when do you lot eat oatmeal?" he asked the boys, feeling somewhat betrayed, which made no sense.

Monty and Hikaru only shrugged, keeping their eyes focused on their bowls in front of them. Pavel grinned at him widely, a smear of oatmeal on his chin. "Jim makes it good," he told Leonard cheerfully before digging in for another bite.

Rolling his eyes, Leonard stomped over to the cabinet that held his insulated mugs, choosing the largest one and emptying the rest of the coffee carafe into it.

"Would you like some oatmeal?" Jim asked him hesitantly.

Leonard frowned, shaking his head briefly and taking a cautious sip of his coffee. The last thing he needed was a burnt tongue, but he desperately needed the caffeine. He'd not slept well at all, his dreams filled with James Kirk and his big blue eyes. He'd cycled through too many dreams to remember, but each one had left him feeling unsettled and the feeling of waiting for the other shoe to drop was overwhelming.

"I can make you something else," Jim offered. "If you want. There's eggs and some cheese. I can make an omelet or…" He was still standing near the breakfast table, his eyes on Leonard warily. It was the most timid he'd ever seen the man and it just made Leonard angry.

"I can make my own breakfast, thank you," Leonard finally snapped, feeling guilty at seeing Kirk flinch, but not sure what to do about it. Instead he glanced over at the chrono. "You better hurry up boys. The bus will be here soon. I'm going to head in early. Y'all have a good day."

There was a chorus of "Bye Leo," as he moved into the living area to gather the rest of his things. He found his PADD and his keys. His medical bag was right where he'd left it on the floor by the door. Standing in the middle of the room, he looked around, sure that he was missing something.

"Here, you forgot your coffee," Jim said, coming up beside him.

Taking it, Leonard grunted a thanks.

"Is there…what should I do today?" Jim asked him before Leonard reached the door. Once again, his timidity made Leonard angry. At himself or Kirk, he didn't know.

"That's why I made you a damn list," Leonard growled, opening the door. "It's on the coffee table. Now stop pestering me. I've got to get to work. Just make sure the boys don't miss their bus. I may be late tonight," he added as an afterthought. "I've got some work to do in my lab."

If Kirk responded Leonard didn't hear him as he'd already slammed the door, realizing that he was basically fleeing from his own home.

The rest of Leonard's day didn't go much better. He was short tempered and snappish with everyone who crossed his path. Christine didn't say anything during the morning appointments, but after lunch when he'd made Maude, his secretary, cry, she'd dragged him into his office and given him a lecture about bedside manners and the proper treatment of his patients and employees that he wasn't likely to forget anytime soon.

He swallowed his pride and apologized to Maude, offering to let her go early, with pay, since the patient load was light. She had perked up immediately and taken him up on his offer. As soon as the last patient was out the door, he sent Christine home too. Then he hid himself in his lab going over his cultures and documenting what he'd done so far. By the time he looked up from his terminal, his back aching, it was well past eight o'clock. If he didn't hurry, he'd miss the boys' bedtime.

Parking his truck, Leonard prepared himself to enter his home. The living room was alight, but the boys' bedroom window was dark. He didn't know whether to be disappointed or not. He'd done his best to not think of James Kirk all day, but like anything you try not to think about, the other man had never been far from his thoughts. The boys would have made a nice buffer.

Opening his front door, he stepped inside and paused, his eyes wide in surprise. In the space of a day, Kirk had managed to actually clean up and organize what had been a disaster of a living room. There were no more cobwebs high in the corners of the ceiling, the floor looked freshly polished, and all the boxes that had been stacked haphazardly in the corners and on top of various pieces of furniture had been unpacked and broken down, and were now stacked against the wall behind a chair. Most shocking of all was that he could barely smell the dog smell that usually permeated the place. Instead it was covered up by the slightly astringent, lemony scent of cleaning fluid.

Setting his things down on a small table that had been placed by the door, Leonard walked towards the kitchen where another light was on. He was just as surprised by the transformation that had taken place there. Gone were the dingy curtains and dirty windows. The floor was so clean it glinted in the overhead light, and if he wasn't mistaken the oven door was missing the wire that had been holding the handle in place as well as the piece of wood that had kept it closed.

Then he saw the replicator in pieces on the counter.

"What the hell did you do to my replicator?" he demanded. His voice, sharper than he intended, caused Kirk to jump in surprise. The PADD he was typing on clattered onto the table top.

"Uh, fixing it?" Kirk asked, more than told him.

"And you are qualified how?" Leonard asked derisively, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring.

For a moment, Kirk stiffened, but then his shoulders slumped and he looked away. "I'm sorry. It seemed pretty straight forward. Monty and I…"

"So you're taking advice about fixing a replicator from a twelve year old?" Leonard asked, one eyebrow lifted in disbelief.

Kirk shrugged. "He helped. I'm pretty sure there's a couple blown filaments which should be easy enough to fix. You just need to take the old ones in to a repair shop and exchange them. And it's not like we need it right away," he said defensively. "It's out of protein mix to begin with and I can cook."

Leonard took a deep breath. "Fine," he agreed. "I can do that tomorrow. What are you working on?" he nodded towards the PADD Kirk was now fiddling with.

Kirk blushed slightly. "It's a…a grocery list," he finally admitted. "I know there's enough food in the cupboards, but it's all…canned. And boxed," he said with a slight frown. "And you're out of milk."

"Well, why didn't you just contact me at work and have me pick it up on the way home?" Leonard asked in exasperation.

"I couldn't find your contact info," Kirk admitted. "Anyway," he stood up quickly, looking uncomfortable again. "The boys had a good night. There are a couple of papers you need to look over, but you can do that in the morning. There's leftovers in the fridge. Spaghetti, if you want some. I'll just leave the shopping list here for you and you can look it over. It's just a suggestion. You can get whatever you want. So, I'll see you in the morning." He spoke in a rush as he walked backwards towards the hallway and, apparently, the safety of his room.

"Jim," Leonard called over to him. He reached over and picked up the PADD, but didn't look at it. "I'm sure everything on the list is fine. And thanks. The living room and kitchen look amazing."

Kirk smiled self consciously. "I was planning to work on the bathrooms tomorrow."

"That's good," Leonard nodded, rocking slightly on his heels, unsure what else to say. "I'll, uh, pick this stuff up," he waved the PADD, "tomorrow after work. I shouldn't be as late."

"Okay," Jim nodded, looking like he was feeling just as awkward. "Good night, Leonard."

"Good night, Jim."

Over the rest of the week, Leonard made an effort to be home by dinner time. Not because he felt guilty or anything, but because it was the right thing to do. He was the boys' father after all. Each evening he was amazed by how much Kirk had gotten done. Not only were the living room and kitchen in order, but he'd pulled off a miracle in the bathrooms; managing to fix the leaky sink in the main bathroom and the leaky shower enclosure in the boys', as well as get rid of the mildew and soap scum. Even Leonard's room and the small office attached to it had been given the royal treatment. Nothing was left undusted, unpolished, unswept or unwashed.

Things were still pretty tense between the two of them and Leonard didn't know what exactly to do about that. It wasn't like they were friends. And while Kirk thought they were something more, he didn't seem to want to push it, for which Leonard was extremely relieved. Still, he threw in the occasional 'Jimmy' and 'darlin' into their conversations to keep up the façade. Kirk hadn't asked about his past at all, which was fine with Leonard. He didn't like making things up and was beginning to worry that he'd catch himself up by not remembering what he'd already said.

It seemed strange, but he missed the arrogant, overly confident James Kirk that he had met on that damn boat. This Jim who watched over the boys, cooked decent meals, cleaned his house and was apparently able to fix small appliances and plumbing leaks, was way too timid for Leonard's tastes. It just felt wrong.

There had been a spark of the old Kirk one morning when Leonard had been his usual snappish self. He'd barely taken two steps into the kitchen when Kirk had handed him a mug of coffee and pointed to a plate of scrambled eggs on the breakfast table. Leonard had only managed a grunt, which might have passed for thanks. Kirk had just shook his head and gone back over to the stove.

"You really are a grouchy bastard in the morning," he said off-handedly.

The boys had all giggled, Pavel covering his mouth in glee. Leonard had just stared at Kirk, who had frozen, his shoulders hunching as he shot a quick glance towards Leonard, his eyes wary. Not knowing what the hell to say, Leonard had simply picked up his fork and eaten his eggs.

The boys were certainly enjoying their new babysitter. He'd never seen them so well behaved, though he knew it wouldn't last. School was almost out and Jim had requested paint, brushes and drop cloths. That was a recipe for disaster if he'd ever heard of one.

Yet, Leonard found himself looking forward to going home in the evenings. Kirk would usually make himself scarce after dinner, going to his room or working on something out in the shed, so that left Leonard and the boys to entertain each other. Before Kirk, Leonard was usually so busy cooking, cleaning or doing whatever had to be done around the house that he didn't really have any time to spend with the boys. Having the time over the last few days had been nice and if he was looking forward to it, no one had to know about it but him.

"Dr. McCoy," Maude knocked briefly on his office door, interrupting his thoughts. "There's a call for you on line one. Someone named Jim."

"Thank you, Maude," Leonard replied, trying to look casual. "Are you going out to lunch?" he asked politely, noticing her keys in one hand and the purse dangling from her elbow.

"I am," she told him. "Bobby's back from Gainesville and said he'd treat his old mom to lunch at the diner. I can't say no to that, now can I?" She practically glowed with pride when talking about her son, who Leonard had heard all about in his brief weeks here. The young man had just graduated college and had taken a position at an accounting firm in Gainesville. No mother could be prouder of her child than Maude.

"Of course not," Leonard pasted on a smile. "Enjoy your lunch."

"Thank you, doctor."

He watched as she left, waiting for the sound of the front door closing before he picked up the line.

"Jim?"

"Uh, Leonard?" came the hesitant reply.

"Yeah, sorry to keep you waiting," Leonard said. This was the first time that Kirk had called him at his office and he couldn't help wondering what was up. "Is everything all right?"

"Everything's fine," Kirk answered. "I didn't mean to worry you it's just…you got a delivery from a Jocelyn Treadway."

Stunned, Leonard couldn't think of anything to say. Why the hell was Jocelyn sending him anything?

"Leonard?" Kirk prodded.

"What?" he couldn't stop himself from snapping. "You need me to come there and sign for it? Can't you do that? It can't be that big of a package after all."

He heard the sharp intake of Kirk's breath and almost kicked himself. The kid was way too skittish.

"Well, it's actually a bit more than a package," Kirk finally replied, and Leonard was relieved to hear the annoyance in his voice. "It's more like twenty boxes and a bunch of furniture."

"Really?" Leonard asked in surprise.

"Really," Kirk replied drily.

"Well, I guess you should sign for it and see if you can…I don't know, make it all fit."

"So you do know this Jocelyn person?" Kirk asked.

There was something in his tone that Leonard couldn't place, but made him extremely uncomfortable. "Of course I do, otherwise she wouldn't be sending me shit, now would she?" he asked sarcastically.

There was a pause. "Okay."

Leonard sighed heavily, bringing a hand up to squeeze the bridge of his nose, hoping to head off the headache he could feel brewing. "Look, Jimmy…"

"I was just wondering if I could get rid of the old couch in the living room," Kirk cut him off, "since there's a nice one in the truck from Ms. Treadway."

"Sure, Jim, sure, just…"

"That's all I needed to know, thanks. Bye." And the line went dead.

Well, hell.

He was not looking forward to going home this evening. There was no telling what Jocelyn had decided to pack up and send to him. And he had no idea what Kirk was thinking and why it bothered him so much.

Leonard left his office as soon as the last patient was out the door, so in consequence he was home a whole hour earlier than usual. He could hear the boys out playing in the back field, probably celebrating the end of the school year and the weeks of freedom ahead. He really envied them their carefree joy.

The scene that presented itself when he entered his home was not one he expected. After days of coming home to an almost immaculate, though threadbare, house, the chaos that greeted him was surprising.

He immediately recognized the old couch and loveseat from his basement rec room in the house he had shared with Jocelyn. She'd also shipped his old desk, a couple sets of shelves, two horrid lamps that had been given to them by his great aunt as a wedding gift, and the old McCoy rocking chair that had once belonged to his great-great grandmother. They'd all been piled haphazardly against one wall, almost blocking the entrance to the kitchen. That, though, wasn't the surprising part as he hadn't expected Jim to move the old furniture very far on his own.

What surprised him was all the opened boxes, their contents spilling out haphazardly, or randomly thrown back in. Kirk sat in the middle of the room, a stack of PADDs surrounding him, as he clicked through the one in his hand, a frown on his face.

"What the hell are you doing?" Leonard thundered. After almost a full week of Kirk cleaning and sorting through his stuff, Leonard suddenly felt like the kid was invading his privacy. These were his things. Things sent from his ex-wife. He didn't even know what the hell she had sent him and here was Kirk looking through his PADDs without a by-your-leave.

"Searching," Kirk replied, barely glancing up at him and not flinching in the least.

"Searching for what?" Leonard frowned, dropping his things on the table by the door and moving to stand over Kirk.

"Searching for proof," Kirk answered, closing down the PADD, tossing it aside and grabbing another one.

"Proof of what?" Leonard demanded, reaching down and snatching the PADD from Kirk's hands.

"Hey!" he protested, grabbing for it, but missing. Seeing Leonard looming over him, Kirk immediately stood up. "Proof of us," he said, glaring at Leonard. "Those letters and pictures you told the sheriff about. A menu or shuttle tickets or a something from Iowa. Something!" he threw his hands up in frustration. "I've been cooking and cleaning and watching the boys and I keep telling myself that this is my life but I just don't feel it. It just doesn't seem…"

"Now Jimmy," Leonard tried to calm him, all the while his heart was pounding and a sense of panic was rising. He reached out to take Kirk's arm and lead him to the couch.

"Don't call me that," Kirk snapped, pulling his arm away. "I hate it. My name is Jim."

"Okay, Jim," Leonard nodded slowly. "Why don't you sit down? You've been working too hard. There's no sense getting yourself worked up. It's not going to help your head any." Guiding him over to the couch he watched as Kirk collapsed onto it, a defeated look on his face.

"I just thought if I could read the letters or even see the damn pictures, that something might be familiar. That everything would finally make sense," he said morosely.

"Now, Ji…darlin'," Leonard soothed, sitting down on the couch next to him. "I don't know where the PADD is. Don't upset yourself. It'll turn up. I'm sure of it," he lied, feeling horrible. What made him feel worse was the way Kirk suddenly sank into him, letting Leonard's arm rest across his back, as he dropped his head to Leonard's shoulder.

"I just don't feel right and I thought…"

"I know, darlin'," Leonard cut him off, running a hand through his silky hair like he used to do for the boys when one of them woke up from a nightmare after their parents were killed. "Honestly, Joss probably wouldn't send it back to me if she found it. She'd be more likely to destroy it."

They sat in silence for awhile, Kirk resting against Leonard, Leonard carding through Kirk's hair. It was nice. In all the months since his daddy had died and his marriage had imploded, Leonard hadn't realized how touched-starved he'd become. It felt good to feel another body pressed close to his, their warmth seeping through the layers of his clothes.

He'd had the boys of course, but Pavel was the only one who really liked being hugged. Monty was too old and Hikaru was just naturally reserved. He'd pat them on the shoulder or head, but it wasn't like they were seeking him out either.

"Who is she?" Jim asked softly, breaking into Leonard's thoughts.

"My ex-wife," he replied without thinking. That was a mistake he realized as he felt Kirk stiffen against him.

"Your what?" he demanded a look of horror on his face.

"My ex-wife," he repeated, letting Kirk pull away. Really, he thought the other man was overreacting. It wasn't something he had wanted to bring up, but it wasn't the end of the world now that Kirk knew.

Kirk moved to the other end of the couch, his posture hunched as he looked up towards the stairwell and then flicked a glance at Leonard, his expression guarded.

"Did I…" he began, and the stopped, swallowing heavily.

Confused, Leonard shook his head slowly. "Did you what, darlin'?" he prompted. Still unsure of what had gotten Kirk so obviously upset.

It took a moment, but Kirk finally looked over at him, his eyes sad. "Did I break up your marriage?" he asked, his voice low.

"Break up my…" Leonard repeated, shocked at the conclusion Kirk had jumped to. "No, no darlin'. You had nothing to do with it," he immediately reassured the younger man. Which was really just hilarious, a part of Leonard's mind thought hysterically, as this whole situation was just one big lie. He just couldn't stand to see the anguish in Kirk's eyes. Sliding closer, he rested a hand lightly on Kirk's arm, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Why would you think that?"

Kirk shrugged uncomfortably, but did look relieved. "I just thought…After all you've said about me," he sighed. "It just seemed likely. I mean, what woman would want her husband cheating on her with an ex-junkie prostitute fry cook from Iowa?" He tried to give Leonard a wry smile, but his lips just barely quirked.

Leonard felt like an ass, seeing how despondent Kirk was, especially as he described himself; described himself as Leonard had when he had been flapping his jaws at the sheriff, trying to figure out how to take advantage of the younger man and not giving a damn about his feelings.

"That's the past," Leonard began, but Kirk cut him off.

"But it's my past," Kirk declared hotly, a spark coming to life in his eyes. "And it's a part of me and I know you said you've gotten beyond it, but I haven't because I don't even know it because I can't remember it."

"Darlin', you've never let it bother you before," Leonard tried again. He really didn't want to discuss all the things he'd made up about Kirk's life. "You've always been a pretty laid back, live and let live type of guy."

Kirk stood up and glared down at Leonard. "Well it bothers me now."

Sighing, Leonard stood up too, not liking the feel of Kirk standing over him. "You shouldn't let yourself get so worked up, darlin'. It's not good for you."

Kirk made a sound deep in his throat and threw up his hands in frustration. "Not worry about it? How am I not supposed to worry about it?" he asked angrily. "I have no life. I don't even have any shoes! I have no memory except for what you've said. And I have to say, I'm not at all surprised that I've chosen to forget it all. And then to think that I broke up your marriage and denied the boys a mother, after they'd lost one already…"

"Now hold up," Leonard interrupted, grabbing at Kirk's flailing limbs and holding them to his side. "I told you, you did not break up my marriage. It was over long before you and I even met, so just wipe that idea out of your mind," he scolded. "And as for Jocelyn, she never was much of a mother to begin with. She loved trotting the boys out when she had a party or showing pictures of them at her club, but she didn't do much more than that. She left everything else to me and the nannies she hired. Trust me, I don't think the boys are missing Joss, and she sure as hell isn't missing them."

The fight suddenly gone out of him, Kirk's shoulders slumped, whether in relief or despair, Leonard didn't know, but he did the first thing that came to mind and pulled Kirk into his arms, holding him close. Kirk stiffened in his embrace at first, but then slowly relaxed, his head resting against Leonard's shoulder as his arms wrapped around his waist, coming to rest on his lower back, gripping the fabric of Leonard's shirt tightly.

"It's just…" Kirk began after a shuddering breath, his voice so quiet, Leonard almost didn't hear him. "Monty was telling me about his parents, what he remembered."

This time it was Leonard who stiffened because in the years since he had adopted the older boy, Monty had never once spoken about his parents, though Leonard had offered to listen anytime he wanted and had even questioned him a few times. Hikaru, and Pavel especially, were just too young, their memories blurry and faded as the years passed. Each boy had a collection of pictures of their parents near their beds; Leonard made no secret of their existence. But only Monty had refused to talk about them.

"He's happy, Leonard," Kirk pulled back slightly, noticing his distress. "Here with you and Hikaru and Pavel, he's happy. But he does miss them, he just doesn't want to hurt your feelings."

Suddenly feeling misty-eyed, Leonard simply nodded, pulling Kirk back against him, not able to say anything, but Kirk seemed to understand that.

"It's just, hearing Monty," Kirk continued after a moment, "listening to him talk about his dad and you…I felt nothing," he admitted. "I mean, I felt bad for Monty and impressed by what you've managed to give to a kid who lost everything, but inside, when I tried to think about how I felt about my dad…there was nothing. And I don't know what that means." He sighed, one of his thumbs absently stroking over some skin that was exposed on Leonard's back.

"But when I thought of my mom," he shuddered, trailing off.

"What darlin'?" Leonard prodded, giving him a reassuring squeeze and unthinkingly pressing his lips against Kirk's forehead.

"It wasn't exactly nice feelings, you know?" he finally said, then chuckled humorlessly. "Of course you know."

"I don't," Leonard said honestly. "We never talked much about your family," he continued, following up the truth with another lie.

"Oh," Kirk seemed surprised. "Well, I'm glad you don't know all the horrible things about me. I mean, the habit and the prostitution and whole fry cook thing was bad enough. I'm pretty sure my relationship with my mother is…complicated," he admitted. "I don't know how I'd feel if I ended up murdering my parents or something like that."

"That's not funny," Leonard scolded.

"I know," Jim said softly, sighing once more. "I just get the feeling that I'm not a very…good person."

Leonard pulled back, his hands coming to rest on Kirk's shoulders as he frowned ferociously. "Now you see here, darlin'. You are a good person. I wouldn't trust you with the boys if I thought otherwise." It was a dubious statement, seeing as he hadn't really known Kirk at all when he'd left him in charge of the boys, but he'd been so wrapped up in extracting his revenge it hadn't even crossed his mind.

Kirk looked unsure, so Leonard continued, knowing only that he wanted to wipe away the despondent look on his face.

"The end of my marriage was not a good time for me," he said honestly, releasing Kirk's shoulders and letting one hand trail down his arm to grasp his hand. "I crawled into a bottle and didn't come out for a long time. And then you came along, all bright eyes and smiles, slinging hash and looking hot. You'd cleaned up your act by then, were even starting back to school."

A thoughtful expression passed over Kirk's face. "I wondered about that. The machines and appliances, they just make sense to me. I can fix them without even really thinking about it. I thought it was because I grew up on a farm," he concluded with a shrug.

"Maybe," Leonard said, "and maybe you're just naturally smart and had a rough time for awhile. My point is, you were what brought me out of my funk, made me think of someone besides myself. There's something special about you, darlin'."

"That's why you agreed to marry me?" Jim asked, a slight frown marring his features as he tried to piece together their nonexistent story that Leonard was still spinning.

"I agreed because…because," he faltered, "because we were two people who needed someone to hold onto and because you gave me back my purpose." It was a lie, but a part of Leonard wished it were true. He did want someone in his life that he could hold on to; could come home to.

"That's why the long engagement," Kirk guessed.

"Yes," Leonard agreed because he couldn't come up with a better idea. "I had to come back here, set things up and start seeing to the boys again. I didn't know if you'd follow or not."

"You said we were estranged," Kirk prompted. "That the last time we saw each other we fought."

"Well, you're a young and handsome man, darlin'," Leonard replied, surprised at how the lies just kept rolling off his tongue. "And I'm an old, grouchy country doctor. I got jealous."

"And I cheated on you," Kirk said morosely, his eyes shying away and the dejected look coming back on his face.

"We were apart for months, Jim," Leonard told him. "It's not like I expected you to be a monk. Hell, I didn't even know if we were still a 'we.' It's water under the bridge. You're here now."

Kirk seemed to accept his answer, his eyes looking of into the middle distance over Leonard's shoulder. "But…" he began, but then stopped himself, ducking his head and biting his lip.

"But what, darlin'?" Leonard asked, giving his hand a squeeze.

Kirk began to blush, but he continued on. "But if we're engaged and we've been apart for months…you haven't, I mean, you don't seem to be…interested. In me."

For a second, Leonard didn't understand what Kirk was saying, but then it dawned on him. "Oh, I'm interested all right, darlin'," Leonard said with a smirk. "I said you're a handsome man and I am not immune. It's just that I'm a southern gentleman at heart and I'm not about to take advantage of someone who's lost their memory."

"But if…"

"No buts," Leonard interrupted. "Not until your memories are back."

"But maybe…" Kirk tried again.

"No," Leonard said firmly, bringing a finger up to press against Kirk's lips and stop him from talking. Something flared deep in Kirk's eyes and Leonard felt an answering pang in his gut, but he beat it down. He was already going to hell for what he'd started, taking advantage of Kirk's memory loss and using him to watch the boys and fix up the house. He wasn't going to use him for sex, too, no matter how his libido seemed to perk up at the idea. "You don't owe me anything…not that, at least," he said honestly. "Of your own free will or not at all Jim. That's how it is going to be, you understand?"

"Yes, Leonard," Kirk replied, his eye lids lowering as his lips quirked up on one side. It was the same look he'd given Leonard on the boat when he'd been talking about not wanting to disappoint his male and female partners and Leonard was not impervious to it. He had a feeling that Jim Kirk was sex personified when he wanted to be. Luckily, the slamming of the back door interrupted their little stare down.

"I guess I should go start dinner," Kirk said, pulling away, his eyes going back to their natural brightness, no seduction in sight.

"I guess you should," Leonard replied, clearing his throat and taking a step away.

Kirk grinned and turned to walk into the kitchen, but he stopped in the doorway. "Leonard?"

"Yeah, Jim?"

"I just wanted you to know," he started, seeming suddenly shy, "that despite what I said earlier, I'm pretty sure that this is the…happiest I've ever been. I like being a part of your family."

Gaping, Leonard felt like he'd been punched in the gut, seeing the sincerity gleaming in Kirk's eyes. "That's…that's great, darlin'," he finally said hoarsely. "We like you, too."

Gracing him with his full watt grin, Kirk turned and walked into the kitchen. "So, what do we want for dinner tonight, my little hooligans?" he asked the boys cheerfully.

Leonard groaned, stumbling over to a chair and sitting down heavily. He was _so_ going to hell for this.

_Please review_


	5. Chapter 5

**Title**: Overboard (remix) 5/6

**Author**: RogueAngel

**Rating**: PG-13

**Characters/pairings**: Jim/Bones, with appearances of Spock, Gary Mitchell, Scotty, Sulu, Chekov and Winona. Passing mentions of Rand, Chapel, Uhura, and Riley.

**Word count**: 34,000+ (I just can't write short fics!)

**Chapter 5**

The next morning he was still out of sorts from their talk, but Leonard did his best to put a good façade on it. He'd started this and he had to see it through. He'd thought everything was about to come tumbling down after dinner the night before. He'd been trying to impress the boys by reciting all the bones in the human body. When he'd finished Kirk had looked across the table at him, his eyes twinkling and said, "Well, Bones, I guess that gets you out of doing the dishes tonight."

After he said it, there had been a stunned moment when they'd sat staring at each other; Leonard in shocked dread, waiting for Kirk's real memories to come back, and Kirk in growing excitement.

"I've called you that before," he whispered in awe.

Leonard just nodded, still waiting for Kirk to start yelling at him.

"It just felt right, when I said it," Jim continued excitedly. "I mean, it made sense because you had just said all their names, and I was just teasing you, but it…it seemed right, too, somehow." He smiled widely. "Maybe…maybe everything's coming back now."

"That's great, darlin'," Leonard forced a smile. "Just don't try to force it. Let it come naturally."

Jim nodded, thoughtfully. "But why did I call you that?" he asked, his brow furrowed.

"Well, I'd rather not say right now," Leonard told him, looking over at the boys pointedly and then back at Kirk.

"Huh?" Kirk looked perplexed, but as he began to understand, his eyes widened and he grinned, his eyebrows rising. "Oh…okay."

That had been the end of that, and the evening had gone smoothly enough with Kirk playing games with the boys while Leonard looked over some of the household bills and perused the news on his PADD. Kirk had been optimistic when he'd gone to bed. Leonard had been just the opposite, but when he walked into the kitchen to find breakfast being cooked and Kirk and Monty discussing some plan or other that the young boy was working on, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"All right everyone, get your shoes on," Leonard told them as soon as breakfast was over. "Jim, you better grab some socks."

"Why?" Pavel immediately demanded. "Are we going somewhere?"

"Yup," Leonard told him while ruffling his hair. "We're going into town. Jim needs some shoes and maybe some clothes that actually fit him. And we need to pick up the paint and brushes Jim needs so he'll stop bitching about the dirty walls," he grumbled, but there was no ire behind it.

Kirk looked shocked, but didn't protest, even as he smiled shyly at Leonard before going to grab the aforementioned socks. The boys immediately scrambled to get their shoes on.

"If we're in town long enough, can we have lunch?" Monty called from the living room. "The diner had really good toasted cheese sandwiches last time we went."

"I want ice cream!" Pavel said, bouncing around the living room. "Can we get ice cream too?"

"I think so," Leonard smiled, picking up Pavel and settling him on his hip. "What do you say, Hikaru? Should we make a day of it?" He asked, holding out his hand for the dark haired boy.

"Yes, please Leonard," the quiet boy grinned, slipping his hand into Leonard's.

"Well then, let's go. You ready Jim?" Leonard called over his shoulder.

"Right behind you," he replied, a grin splitting his face.

Kirk was surprisingly frugal when it came to picking out clothes, though Leonard assured him repeatedly that anything he wanted was fine. The first stop had been for shoes, where he'd picked out a pair of running shoes and a pair of flip flops. Then he'd picked out a pair of jeans that actually fit him and several pairs of shorts and some underwear of his own. He'd didn't bother with any shirts, saying that Leonard's fit him well enough. He did however choose a pair of swim trunks and a baseball cap and sunglasses.

The next stop was the hardware store, where they spent over an hour picking out various shades of paint for the house. Leonard had just wanted to go with off white or maybe a pale yellow for everything, but Kirk had given him a disdainful look. He may have looked like everyone else, but he was still a rich kid inside, even if he didn't have his memories. Turning to the sales clerk, he began talking dimensions and accenting colors and trim. Leonard honestly didn't care what went on the walls, so he kept an eye on the boys who were busy perusing the paint sample cards. Leonard had promised that he'd let them choose the color of their room.

In the end they ended up with more colors than Leonard thought they needed, but he hadn't complained, amused at how absorbed Kirk was. The living room and hallways, it had been decreed, would be Laguna Blue with accents of Crystal Waters and Classic Silver. To Leonard they looked like blue, light blue and grey, but after his first sarcastic comment he kept his mouth closed. The kitchen was to be done up in various shades of green that Leonard didn't even bother to remember. However, they did match some of the stoneware and kitchen supplies that Jocelyn had sent, so he could see the sense in it.

For Leonard's bedroom and office, Kirk had picked a rich chocolate brown, accented with a light beige and another shade of grey. Surprisingly, he actually liked it.

The bathrooms were a bright yellow and blue for the downstairs and a fire engine red for the boys', both with antique white trim. Once again, Leonard was a bit skeptical of the choices, but was overruled.

The boys had wanted the red for the bedroom at first, so Leonard was glad Jim had talked them out of it. Then they'd wanted black. Jim had managed to talk them down to a dark grey along two walls and a lighter shade for the other two. He and the sales clerk had also discussed painting methods that went right over Leonard's head, but had the boys all excited.

While the paint was being mixed and stirred, Kirk had filled a cart with brushes, paint trays, painting tape, and drop cloths. Then he had pulled Leonard aside and quietly asked if they could go out to the gardening area. Confused, but willing, Leonard had followed and watched as Kirk talked with Hikaru. Several gardening tools, as well as packets of vegetable seeds, two tomato plants and a bunch of pretty flowering plants soon ended up in the cart. Leonard could only hope that they'd survive the week, but Hikaru looked more excited than he had ever seen.

Once everything was paid for and hauled out to the truck, it was off to the diner for lunch and then some ice cream. On the way home Leonard made a stop at the local Salvation Army arranging for a pick up of Doc Matthews's old furniture.

When they got home the boys disappeared into the backyard with the gardening tools, Hikaru directing their attack on a raised area of soil that had once been some sort of garden, but was now overgrown with weeds. As the evening passed, Monty and Pavel eventually lost interest, but Hikaru kept at it until he was called in to dinner, sweaty and covered in dirt, but smiling.

He and Jim spent the rest of the afternoon moving the old furniture out of the living room and into the front yard for pick up and arranging the new furniture sent by Jocelyn. They worked in companionable silence and it was Leonard who offered to cook dinner while Jim sorted through the painting supplies and began prepping the living room for painting.

By the time dinner was over and cleaned up, the boys showered and clean, no one had enough energy to do more than sit and watch one of the Disney vids the boys liked. Pavel fell asleep halfway through, his head pillowed on Kirk's lap. Kirk carried him up to bed, while Leonard shepherded a stumbling Hikaru and a yawning Monty upstairs.

It had been the best day that Leonard could remember in a long time. He'd fallen asleep to the image of a shirtless Jim exiting the bathroom, a small smile on his face as he said good night.

Before Leonard realized it the summer was halfway over. All the rooms in the house were painted, the front yard had been weeded and trimmed into submission, and Jim and the boys were in the process of building a fort that Monty had designed with Jim's help.

Leonard was actually enjoying his life. His research project was going well; there had even been inquiries from several major biomedical companies. They boys were happy. His practice was thriving. Life just couldn't seem to get any better.

There had been one night, early in the summer when Leonard had come home to find the three boys duct taped to each other on the front porch while Jim was inside painting the living room. He had laughed uproariously at the sight and even took a few pictures with his PADD; Monty scowling, Hikaru looking sheepish and Pavel grinning widely.

Jim had simply shrugged and handed Leonard a pair of scissors, telling the boys over his shoulder that they had better wash up for dinner and that they weren't to touch anything in the living room. Properly chastised, the boys had entered the house and done exactly as they were told. Even after the duct tape incident they remained surprisingly well behaved all summer.

It helped that Hikaru spent most of his time out in his garden and Monty was entranced by his plans for a fort. Jim had downloaded a beginner level CAD program and spent one evening explaining it to Monty. The kid took to it like a duck to water and whenever he could, he talked with Jim about what their fort should look like. Responding patiently, Jim had told him to dream big and design the biggest, best fort he could think of. They might not be able to actually make it, but they could scale it down later. Monty had agreed and the PADD was never far from his side.

Jim made a point of inspecting Hikaru's garden every morning and helping out with the bigger projects, too. He also consulted the boy when he worked on the border around the front yard, asking his advice on what flowers and plants would grow best and where they should be planted. Hikaru was surprisingly knowledgeable because he too had a PADD loaded with a gardening encyclopedia and planner.

It was Jim's treatment of Pavel that Leonard was most impressed with. At just barely five years old he was inquisitive, but easily bored. His teacher had deemed him slow, saying that he was well below average at grasping and understanding basic math. Some of the kids in his class had even teased him and called him stupid, though Leonard had only found that out after the fact through Monty.

Without calling attention to it, Jim began introducing the concept of numbers and addition and subtraction, and even basic multiplication and division, to Pavel through everyday tasks. Soon Pavel was spouting off numbers left and right as Jim offered him more challenging problems, patiently teaching him how to figure them out all while he was painting, cooking dinner or working in the yard with Hikaru.

It also helped that Jim gave Pavel a small paintbrush and let him paint numbers and equations onto the walls that Jim hadn't worked on yet.

Leonard had given up wondering why Jim was so good with the boys, just as he filed away the man's initial timidity and willingness to please earlier. They seemed so out of character for the arrogant man he had met, but who really knew the depths of the human psyche? The longer Jim didn't remember anything from his past, the more Leonard thought that he was suppressing it as the most likely explanation.

As easily as Jim had worked his way into the boys' lives, connecting with them in ways that Leonard hadn't even thought of and helping to expand their horizons and nurture their interests in the world around them, it was how he had inserted himself into Leonard's life that had been the most startling.

One day, Leonard woke up and it suddenly hit him that Jim Kirk had become his friend; probably the best friend he'd had since he was Monty's age and went everywhere around his neighborhood with Paul Thackeray at his side. It hadn't happened over night, but it had happened so effortlessly that Leonard wasn't even aware of it.

This thing between them began naturally enough with dinner conversations about the boys and what happened during the day. Then it had been beers on the porch after the boys had gone to bed, where they discussed whatever came up – the weather, politics, history, the latest book Jim was reading, or what Leonard was researching and the hoops he had to jump through to get funding. It didn't matter what the topic was, they simply talked.

Jim was surprisingly insightful and well read. Given that Leonard had met the man on his twenty-foot, million credit boat, it shouldn't have been surprising at all, but Leonard tried to make himself forget where he'd met Jim and what was actually going on between them.

There were a couple topics they did not talk about; Jim's past and their – supposed – relationship. Still, there were times when Leonard caught Jim looking at him and he'd feel a shiver of sexual awareness course down his spine, yet the younger man never made a move. Leonard certainly wasn't going to. He felt guilty enough when he let himself think about it.

It had been a nice summer, but Leonard knew it couldn't last. Jim's memory was going to come back eventually and he was going to be angry with Leonard and rightly so. He wouldn't be surprised if Jim never spoke to him again, or possibly pressed charges. At this point it might even be a relief if that happened. Then Leonard could at least absolve some of his guilt through penance.

Seeing Jim and feeling the pull that the other man had on him, Leonard knew that he had to come clean soon or lose him forever, as a friend and as, maybe, something more. But he just couldn't do it, not yet. He couldn't bear the thought of those eyes looking at him in hurt and anger. He knew that Jim was happy here with him and the boys; that he believed that he belonged. Leonard knew different. But he wanted to believe; he wanted it desperately.

"Hey, grumpy," Jim nudged him in the ribs with his foot. "Get up, it's time to go. The festivities start soon and the boys are ready."

Removing his arm from where he had draped it over his eyes, Leonard looked over at Jim sitting on the coffee table, taking in his golden hair and smiling face. His sunglasses were perched on the top of his head casually and he was wearing a white t-shirt that showed off his tanned and toned arms, a pair of baggy shorts and his flip flops. He'd never looked better. Leonard frowned.

"You okay, Bones," Jim asked, his smile fading to a look of worry. "You've been…off… for a couple days now."

"I'm fine," Leonard scowled, sitting up and running a hand through his hair and over his face. "Did you use sunscreen?"

"Yes," Jim rolled his eyes. It was on oft asked question in the McCoy household.

"And the boys?"

"Of course."

Standing, Leonard offered Jim his hand to pull him up. "Well, let me go to the bathroom and put some sunscreen on myself and we can go."

Jim smiled, squeezing Leonard's hand before giving him a playful slap on the shoulder. "All right. We'll meet you in the truck. I'll be the one with the big melons – filled with fruit salad." Winking, he pulled down his sunglasses and went to the front door, calling for the boys.

Rolling his eyes, Leonard moved to get ready. It was going to be a long day if Jim was feeling flirty already. The small touches and insinuating looks had been increasing lately and Leonard was becoming more and more uncomfortable. A part of him welcomed them. He knew he was attracted to Jim and Jim's flirting heightened that awareness. But Leonard knew it couldn't go further, at least not yet, so as pleasurable as it was, Jim's flirting was also torturous. Catching the way Jim was watching him almost hungrily from the doorway, the boys still outside, Leonard had a feeling that he was in serious trouble today.

As Leonard had guessed, Jim's flirting had only increased as the day went on. They'd attended a concert at one end of the park, where Jim had leaned against Leonard and hummed along as they watched Hikaru and Pavel dance with the other kids in front of the stage. Later as they made their way over to the picnic area where all the food was set out, he'd taken Leonard's hand and not let go until Maude had handed them plates. In the afternoon he and the boys had participated in several of the games and events including laser tag, various races and a greased pig competition, while Leonard watched from the sidelines.

Leonard wasn't the only one who had their eyes on Jim when he'd striped off his shirt in order to chase after the pig. When he'd graciously given Leonard his blue ribbon after he'd actually caught the damn thing, and then slung his arm around Leonard's shoulder, Leonard hadn't been able to stop himself from leaning in, just for a moment. It had been a fine display of manly muscles and testosterone. If some of the women present gave him jealous looks, well, it wasn't his fault.

They'd meandered their way through the rest of the afternoon, following the boys from activity to activity. Jim had even joined the boys in a water balloon fight and then willingly stood still as Leonard had reapplied sunscreen all over his chest and back. Another round of food and the boys were getting tired and snippy, so they pitched their blanket on the side of park facing the river and settled in to wait for the fireworks at dusk. Monty and Hikaru had immediately turned on their PADDs. Pavel had curled up and fallen asleep between Jim and Leonard like a worn out puppy.

"It's been a good day," Jim said after awhile, his hand stroking through Pavel's sweaty hair. He was lying on his side, propped up on one elbow, facing Leonard.

"The best," Leonard agreed. He was leaning back on both his elbows, idly watching the clouds float by. Feeling the weight of Jim's eyes on him, he turned his head to look at the other man, feeling something catch in his throat as he saw how natural Jim looked, laying there with Pavel, Hikaru now curled up and sleeping against his back and Monty at his feet, taping away on his PADD.

This was what Leonard had always wanted. He hadn't found it with Jocelyn. And he hadn't expected to find it with the cocky, arrogant man he had met on that boat all those weeks ago. But he had found it with Jim. And it was all wrong and he knew it.

Reaching out, Jim cupped his jaw, his thumb rubbing lightly against Leonard's lower lip. "I'm glad we're here," he said softly, his smile warm and gentle. "Why are you frowning?"

Leonard sighed, turning onto his side to face Jim, he brought up a hand to hold Jim's fingers against his face. "Jim," he said slowly, his eyes downcast. "This is…we can't…I…" he was trying to find the right words; how desperately he wanted Jim, but how badly he had screwed it all up.

"No Bones," Jim interrupted him, his smile not fading a bit. "We can." Leaning forward, he placed a gentle kiss on Leonard's lips, lingering as their breath intermingled, before pulling back slowly. "We can, Bones," he repeated. "This is right. You can't tell me otherwise. I know you can't. I don't want to wait anymore. I don't care about my memories. I don't need them. But I do need you."

Leonard's breath hitched at Jim's softly spoken words. "Jim," he pleaded, "please, I…"

Not wanting to hear another protest, Jim leaned forward and kissed him again and Leonard felt himself surrender to it, opening himself to Jim as the other man continued to kiss him softly. For a moment he thought it was his imagination that there were fireworks going off until he heard the exclamations of delight from the crowd. Pulling away, his teeth lightly tugging on Leonard's lower lip, Jim let go and smiled. "Pretty epic kiss," he grinned. "Fireworks and everything."

Leonard snorted, and shook his head. "Don't get too cocky, darlin'."

Jim grinned, opening his mouth to say something probably indecent, but then thought better of it. Instead, he looked down at Pavel and shook his shoulder gently. "Hey, Pasha. The fireworks have started. You better wake up or you'll miss 'em."

Like a jack-in-the-box, the little boy popped up, his eyes bleary, but focused on the colorful explosions going on above him. "Wow," he exclaimed. "Did you see that Leo?" he asked, climbing into Leonard's lap.

"I did, kiddo," Leonard replied, leaning back on his hands so that Pavel could recline on top of him and see the show.

Hikaru didn't wake up nearly as easily, but he drowsily enjoyed the show from where he was curled up against Jim's chest, as Jim lay on his back, one hand under his head and the other wrapped around Hikaru.

The ride home was quiet. After forty-five minutes of fireworks, it was well past the boys' usual bedtime, even during summer vacation. Jim and Monty discussed the origins of fireworks and what they were made out of as they made their way to the truck, but the conversation trailed off once they were on the road to home. It had been a good day, but everyone was exhausted.

Leonard sat nervously on the end of his bed. He'd already prepared for bed while Jim was talking to Monty upstairs about their plans for tomorrow. He could hear Jim in the bathroom between their rooms and his anxiety began to rise. He hadn't felt this nervous on his wedding night, or his senior prom when Brittney Callahan had promised to put out at the end the evening.

It was ridiculous for a grown man to feel this way, but he couldn't help it. Jim had made his intentions clear earlier and Leonard didn't want to say no. Not really. It was his conscious that was the problem.

"You gonna work yourself up into an anxiety attack, Bones?" Jim asked humorously from where he was leaning against the doorway to Leonard's room.

Because it was the most natural thing for him to do, Leonard glared. "No," he snapped.

Jim was standing there barefoot in a pair of low slung shorts and no shirt, his hair slightly damp from a quick shower.

"Like what you see?" he asked. There was a knowing grin on his face as he waggled his eyebrows.

Leonard found it suddenly hard to speak. "Yeah," he said, after clearing his throat. Sighing, he looked away from the man standing before him, steeling himself to do what he had to do. "Jim…"

He must have heard something in Leonard's tone, because before Leonard could utter another word, Jim had pushed off from the door way, crossed the room and gracefully dropped to his knees in front of him.

Shaking his head, Jim placed a finger over Leonard's lips, silently telling him to stop talking. "No, Bones," he said earnestly. "Whatever you're worried about; whatever's been bothering you – just let it go."

"Jim," Leonard tried again, but Jim simply pressed more firmly against his lips with his finger.

"No, Bones. Stop thinking, stop over-thinking. Just stop," he scolded. "Tonight's going to happen. I want it to happen and I think you want it to happen, right?"

Scowling, Leonard pursed his lips, not responding.

"I know you do," Jim said with a small grin, removing his finger from Leonard's lip and instead resting both his hands on Leonard's thigh's, massaging them lightly. "We've been dancing around each other for weeks now. I don't care about my memories," he told Leonard honestly, his eyes wide and open, letting Leonard see the truth in them. "I only care about us. And this, tonight…this is just the last piece of the puzzle."

Leonard's breath hitched in his chest and he let out a little groan at Jim's words and how profoundly they affected him.

"You're my best friend, Bones," Jim told him, "and I want you. I don't think I've ever felt this way before. About anyone."

Not giving Leonard a chance to pull away, Jim surged up and caught his lips in a deep kiss, one hand circling behind his neck to keep him from pulling away. His lips were slightly chapped and he tasted vaguely of mint and Leonard found it totally addictive as he surrendered to Jim's onslaught. When Jim finally pulled away, he didn't move far, only rested his forehead against Leonard's as he brought his breath under control, a smile on his face.

"Why is that so hard for you to believe, Bones?"

"Christ Jim," Leonard sighed, rubbing a thumb over Jim's throat near where his hand had come to grip him while they were kissing. He could feel the blood pumping fast and heavy through Jim's veins, even more evidence of his obvious arousal, if Leonard needed it. "I believe you, but…"

"Don't you want me too?" Jim asked.

"Of course I do," Leonard snapped, though he knew it wasn't fair for him to take his anger out on Jim.

Jim shrugged, used to his moods by now. "Then I don't see what the problem is," he said, leaning in for another kiss.

This time, Leonard managed to turn his head, Jim's lips landing on his cheek instead. The change of location didn't faze Jim in the least as he began to place lingering kissing across Leonard's face and down his neck, nipping lightly and soothing with his tongue. Despite himself, Leonard found himself tilting his head to give Jim better access.

"That's it, Bones," Jim whispered, his cool breath making Leonard shiver. "Relax." Slowly, his hand began to sneak under Leonard's shirt. The feel of Jim's hands against his skin caused a shiver to run down his spine. For so long he had wondered what it would feel like, Jim's hands slightly callused and oh, so warm against him, tracing patterns over his back and up his ribs.

He touched Jim often enough and knew the softness of his skin well. Though he had always tried to remain removed when he treated Jim's random bumps, bruises, splinters and cuts, he wasn't blind. And now that Jim had pushed through the artificial barrier Leonard had constructed between them, he wanted to touch. He wanted to run his hands over Jim's skin. To feel the muscles and sinews that he watched work day in and day out. To see where Jim was sensitive. To see what touches aroused him.

Of their own volition, his hands came to rest against on Jim's hips, only his thumbs grazing Jim's flesh above the waistband of his shorts. Jim's shudder in response to Leonard's touch. Letting him know without words that it was more than welcome. Slowly, delicately, Leonard traced a pattern over Jim's stomach, across his ribs, until he was cupping Jim's pectorals, his thumbs brushing lightly over the other man's nipples.

With a moan, Jim pulled away from where he was kissing Leonard's neck. "God, Bones, I have been waiting for you to touch me."

"I touch you all the time," Leonard said, his voice low and rough as he began to play with Jim's already pebbled nipples, pinching gently, then smiling at Jim's hissing response. "I put sunscreen all over you today," he reminded him.

"Yeah," Jim groaned, his hands gripping Leonard's back spasmodically. "And I was half hard the whole time. I could barely concentrate on what Monty was saying. It was torture."

Giving a huffing laugh, Leonard smiled knowingly. "You loved it."

"Hell yeah," Jim agreed, pushing up with his hands on the bed and forcing Leonard backwards until he was lying on his back. "I want you Bones," Jim said as he looked down at him, his eyes blown wide in arousal and desire. "I feel like I've always wanted you," he whispered before leaning down to kiss him once more.

Leonard surrendered easily to the kiss at first, then Jim's words penetrated the erotic haze in his mind and he pulled away. Placing his hands on Jim's hips, he pushed. Intent on his neck, if he couldn't kiss his lips, Jim ignored him until Leonard let out a growl and shoved, pushing Jim to the side and sitting up.

"What the hell?" Jim asked in confusion.

"This is wrong, Jim," Leonard told him in a hoarse voice, his head hanging.

One of Jim's hands came to rest on Leonard's shoulders and he flinched, but Jim didn't pull away. "Not from where I'm sitting," he said gently.

"Ugh!" Leonard groaned in frustration. "You don't even know who you are!"

Jim shrugged, as if it wasn't a big deal. "I'm Jim."

Leonard closed his eyes and shook his head. "That's not what I meant. That's not…"

Squeezing his shoulder, Jim ducked his head to try to get a look at Leonard's face. The sympathy and understanding in those blue eyes almost killed Leonard. "I know what you meant and…I understand. I do," he responded to Leonard's incredulous look. "And it doesn't matter to me. I know what I want, okay? I'm a big boy," he said with a wry smile. "This is my decision and I know it's something we both want, so will you just relax?"

"I can't," Leonard whispered, turning away from Jim's piercing eyes and staring morosely at the floor.

"Okay, fine," Jim said with a theatrical sigh. Pulling one foot off the floor, he positioned himself crossed-legged facing Leonard. "Let's hear it," he demanded. "What has you so worked up? We're good together, Bones. What's stopping us – you – from taking it further, to where we both want to go?"

Stunned, Leonard could only stare at Jim, the words trapped in this throat. After all these weeks, now was the time to tell Jim the truth; to watch his eyes darken with anger and hatred, to watch him pull away in disgust and actually leave him. Leonard found that he couldn't, not when Jim was so close and so…there, waiting patiently for what he believed was a trivial matter.

Leonard licked his lips, swallowing several times as he tried to find the words. "I…we…I…you…" he stuttered, stumbling awkwardly as he stared into Jim's crinkling eyes as he tried not to smile at Leonard's discomfort.

"That's a good start," Jim winked. "You got the pronouns down. I'm me, you're you and you and I are we. What's next?" he asked with a repressed grin.

Scowling, Leonard glared, but then pushed ahead. "We…we were never engaged," he finally managed to get the words out of his mouth. It wasn't the whole truth, but Leonard just couldn't bring himself to say it all, not when Jim was sitting right there in front of him looking so…patient.

"Okay," Jim accepted with a shrug and a smile. "Now was that so hard?"

Stunned once more, Leonard's mouth opened and closed. "Okay?" he asked. "Just 'okay'? That's all you have to say?"

Jim grinned. "Yeah, Bones, that's all I have to say. Honestly it's a relief."

"It is?" Leonard frowned, totally confused by Jim's easy acceptance.

"Yeah, I mean, seriously? Why would a well-educated guy like you – a doctor – with a practice and patients and kids and everything," he waved a hand to encompass the house, "why would he tie himself to someone like me? I don't care how deep the bottle was, no one is that desperate."

"Darlin'," Leonard spoke automatically, his heart twisting to hear Jim refer to himself in such a way and it was all his fault. He was the one who made up all those horrible lies and Jim had believed him because there was nothing and no one to say otherwise. "You are amazing and…"

Without warning, Leonard found himself on is back once more, Jim perched over him. "I love it when you call me darlin'. You haven't done it in what feels like forever," he said, shivering dramatically. "Don't you see, Bones? Who I was in the past, hell, who you were – we're not the same people. We're better because we're together." He placed a soft kiss against Leonard's lips and then pulled back just so that he could look in Leonard's eyes. "I like who I am when I'm with you," he said softly. "And I want to make love with you. Now will you shut up and get with the program?" he said scolded lightly, with a small smile.

Leonard felt the banked heat that was always within him whenever Jim was near flare with need. "Whatever you say, darlin'," he whispered, reaching up and pulling Jim's mouth to his. He could feel Jim's smile against his lips, but neither of them spoke again.

Later, as the lay snuggled against each other, the sweat cooling from their bodies, Jim looked up at Leonard with an expression not unlike awe. "Was it always like this, Bones?" he asked softly, one hand rubbing against Leonard's cheek, playing with his five o'clock shadow.

Taking his hand, Leonard pressed a kiss to his palm before placing it over his heart. "Every time with you is like the first time, darlin'."

Sighing, Jim cuddled in, his head tucked into Leonard's chin, his hand still over his heart as he dozed off, a smile on his face.

_Please review_


	6. Chapter 6

**Title**: Overboard (remix) 6/6

**Author**: RogueAngel

**Rating**: PG-13

**Characters/pairings**: Jim/Bones, with appearances of Spock, Gary Mitchell, Scotty, Sulu, Chekov and Winona. Passing mentions of Rand, Chapel, Uhura, and Riley.

**Word count**: 34,000+ (I just can't write short fics!)

**Chapter 6**

Jim was all smiles the next morning and Leonard couldn't help responding in kind. There was something inside Leonard that just settled whenever he looked at Jim. Whether he was cleaning up the breakfast that Leonard had cooked, or helping Hikaru in his garden, Leonard's eyes were just drawn to him. And Jim seemed to sense when he had Leonard's attention and enjoyed teasing him with a wink or shimmy of his hips, or the quick darting of his tongue over his lips.

It was decided that after a morning spent outside in the sweltering heat that it was time for ice cream. Though Jim and the boys wanted him to join them, Leonard decided to remain at the house and let Jim take the boys into town. With a stop at the hardware store to get some more seeds for Hikaru and then the diner, Leonard figured he had at least two hours to do what he should have done weeks ago.

Jim was disappointed, but didn't push, probably sensing that Leonard needed some space to think and come to grips with the change in their relationship and Jim's decision to disregard his memory loss.

Still, it was with a worried look that Jim waved good-bye from the cab of the truck as he drove off.

Leonard watched until they turned onto the main road and then went into the living room. His PADD was on the coffee table and he picked it up warily, a frown marring his features. With a heavy sigh, he powered it on and brought up the search engine. Not letting himself hesitate, he typed in 'James Kirk' and tapped enter.

Within a second he had over eighteen million hits. What surprised him, but really shouldn't have, was that there were pictures of Jim – James – on the first page, followed by article after article about him and Kirk Enterprises. He hadn't even needed to search through dozen of other James Kirks.

Not one to really pay attention to the business world, the name Kirk Enterprises didn't sound familiar to him, but many of its holdings did – a spaceline, several brand names of common home and office electronics, a communications network, a luxury hotel chain, a pharmaceutical company and much, much more.

Leonard was shocked. He knew Jim was rich. He knew that Jim was innately intelligent, but he hadn't figured he was the heir apparent to a multi-trillion credit conglomeration that spanned all of Earth, the moon, and had vested interests in several space stations within the Sol System. It just didn't make sense. He'd been here with Leonard for weeks now, why hadn't anyone come looking for him?

A picture caught his eye on his main search; a photo that wasn't of Jim, but his friend Gary who had also been on the boat. Following the link, Leonard read with a heavy heart of the dark-haired man's arrest for corporate espionage and insider trading. He saw quotes and pictures of Jim's mother. There was even a brief glance of the Vulcan, Spock, who had nerve-pinched Leonard and left him the dock.

Feeling voyeuristic, but unable to stop himself, Leonard watched an interview of Jim's mother in front of a courthouse in New York City. She was a handsome woman, but her eyes were a much colder blue than her son's. She spoke of the swiftness of their action when they suspected what Gary was up to and how they intended to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law. When she was questioned about her son and his thoughts on the matter, her eyes had narrowed fractionally, but she had only said that James was currently on vacation; that he knew what was happening and fully supported the company's actions.

That had led to a follow up question regarding James' relationship to Gary Mitchell and the insinuation that they were more than business associates. If looks could kill, that would have been the end of that particular reporter, though she did answer him. "It was in fact my son who first brought Mr. Mitchell to the attention of our security team," she said haughtily. "His continued friendship with him was simply a means to an end." Without taking another question she ended the press conference.

Resting his head against the back of the couch, Leonard's stomach clenched painfully. He knew what he had to do. He had to tell Jim the truth. Jim had a life and obligations that he had to fulfill. His mother had acted as if he really was on vacation, but they had to be worried about him. The heir to a business like Kirk Enterprises could not go incommunicado for this long and not have people searching for him. It just didn't seem possible. He realized that they might not want to advertise his absence, but they sure as hell had to be looking. Why the hell they hadn't found him already was a mystery to Leonard, but he knew he had to get Jim home; he had to give him back his life.

Hearing the truck pull up rather sooner than he expected, Leonard stood up, his heart in his throat. There was no time like the present. He'd send the boys out into the backyard or let them put in a vid and then he'd pull Jim aside and show him everything. And he'd apologize. He'd apologize profusely and beg if he had to. He didn't want Jim to hate him, not after what they'd shared, but he honestly couldn't see it happening any other way.

Slowly he made his way to the front door and out on to the porch, only to stop short in shock. Parked in front of his house was not his truck with Jim and the boys in it, but a long black limousine. As he stepped out onto the porch, the front passenger door opened and out stepped a familiar Vulcan.

For a moment Leonard just stared at him in disbelief as Spock walked around the limo towards him. Then his temper flared. "You have got to be shitting me," he said angrily, crossing his arms and glaring balefully.

Spock didn't respond, only raised one eyebrow imperiously, which only angered Leonard further.

"You're showing up now?" he demanded, stomping down the steps. He didn't know what he planned to do, but the urge to hit the Vulcan was strong. "After all this time, you fucking show up now?"

"Indeed," Spock finally spoke. "We had thought to wait for James to contact us, but as his liaison with you has continued longer than was expected, it became necessary to retrieve him. We saw him driving in town with your children. We thought it best to confront him here, rather than where there might be witnesses."

"You knew he was here all along?" Leonard demanded incredulously, his anger turning to confusion as he stopped.

"Of course," Spock replied.

"How the hell…" Leonard began, but was cut off by the sound of his truck coming up the drive, his heart sinking. This was it. Everything was going to come crashing down now.

The boys' chatter and excitement at seeing the limo in the front yard was background noise. Leonard had only eyes for Jim as he exited the truck, a grocery bag in his arms.

He smiled up at Leonard, and then turned his attention to the limo, taking in Spock standing stiffly by the limo's back door. "Hey Spock," he grinned, slapping him on the shoulder as he passed him. "Let me get this ice cream into the freezer and I'll be right back," he said congenially. Bounding up the steps he passed Leonard. "I got peach," he told him with a wink.

Spock's head cocked slightly as he watched Jim enter the house. He turned his piercing gaze to Leonard. "That is not the reception I expected," he admitted to Leonard, picking up something from Jim's brief touch, or possibly his cheerful greeting, that made the imperturbable Vulcan look uneasy.

"He lost his memory," Leonard told him thickly.

Both Spock's eyebrows rose. "I had not anticipated such an occurrence."

Leonard heard the door open and turned slowly to face Jim, his whole body tense with anxiety.

"Spock," Jim repeated in awe, looking at the Vulcan as he went down the porch stairs. "You're Spock."

"Indeed," Spock nodded. "I had not expected the loss of your memory or I…"

"Oh my god," Jim said, ignoring the Vulcan, as a grin spread across his face. "I remember. I mean, I didn't before, but then I walked into the house and then it was just…wham! And I remember everything! Bones, I remember!" he said with delight and he rushed over and pulled Leonard into a hug. "You don't have to worry any more. I have my memories and…"

Jim's cheerfulness faded as he pulled slowly away from Leonard, who couldn't help frowning as he watched everything fall into place as Jim's eyes began to harden.

Leonard winced as Jim's grip on his shoulders tightened painfully before he let go with a small shove.

"You're that doctor," he stated flatly.

Leonard could only nod.

Jim made a small sound in his throat, a hysterical laugh cut off or a growl, Leonard couldn't tell. "Not engaged?" he snapped. "That's what you…" he ran a hand through his hair and looked around at the house and the yard and his expression hardened further. "You didn't even fucking know me," he whispered hoarsely. "And you let me believe…made me cook and clean and watch your kids."

Something in his voice broke on those last words and Leonard found himself reaching out to the younger man. "Jim…"

"No one calls me that," Jim said stiffly, pulling away from Leonard's touch.

Pavel came up between them and took Jim's hand. "Jim are you okay?" he asked softly, his voice hesitant. He'd obviously sensed the tension between the two men and like any child wanted to be reassured.

Jim made a pained sound in the back of this throat. "No Pasha, I'm not," he said thickly. Slowly he pulled his hand away from the little boy, not once looking down at him.

"Jim?" Pavel questioned in confusion.

"Pavel, come here," Leonard said, pulling the boy to stand in front of him, his hands on his shoulders holding the small boy in place. "Jim, I'm sorry…" Leonard tried again. The pain and betrayal in Jim's eyes was breaking his heart and he could feel Pavel trembling under his hands.

"How long have you known?" Jim asked, his lips pursed tightly, his face carefully blank. "How long have you known who I am?"

"I only just…today…"

Jim's bitter laugh cut him off. "I've been here for weeks and you expect me to believe you 'only just' figured out who I was?"

"Yes!" Leonard argued, though he couldn't help feeling guilty. He should have checked sooner. "Had I known…" he trailed off with a shrug, unable to look into Jim's eyes.

"What? You would have fucked me sooner?" Jim asked caustically. "Alerted the press to your new houseboy? Tried to get some money out of all this instead of just manual labor?"

"No, Jim…" Leonard shook his head, horrified that Jim would think such things about him.

"That's not my name," Jim cut him off. "Say it," he ordered suddenly. "Say my name."

"Jim," Leonard pleaded, wanting him to remember the good times, not just what Leonard had selfishly done. The need for revenge had started this whole thing, but once he'd gotten to know Jim he hadn't wanted to let him go. It was selfish, but he'd come to truly care for Jim and hadn't wanted to lose him.

"Say it," Jim bit out, his jaw tense.

Leonard closed his eyes briefly. "James Kirk," he said on a sigh.

Jim nodded brusquely. "That's who I am."

Leonard wanted to protest. That wasn't who he was; not only who he was, but he held his tongue knowing that nothing he said could soothe the man he had hurt so deeply.

"James, get in the limo," a woman's voice, one Leonard recognized as Winona Kirk, called out.

Jim shuddered, and then looked Leonard directly in the eyes, his own hard as diamonds and just as emotionless. "I am James Kirk," he said, drawing himself up. "I don't belong here. I don't belong with you and I don't belong with them," he nodded to the boys who were now standing around Leonard. There was a small flicker of pain in his eyes as he glanced at the boys, his voice catching, but he managed to cover it.

Without another word, he turned and walked over to the limo, nodding stiffly at Spock.

"Jim?" Pavel called out, his voice wavering plaintively. "Where are you going?"

Jim paused, his shoulders hunching slightly, but didn't turn around. Instead he slid into the limo, his eyes straight ahead as he waited for Spock to close the door.

"Jim, don't leave!" Hikaru called out, surprising Leonard. He thought he saw Jim flinch, but the door closed.

As if that was a signal, Pavel broke away from Leonard's grip and ran to the limo, beating on the window and calling for Jim. Spock ignored him as he circled the vehicle and got in. Hikaru rushed over, tears streaking down his face as he pounded on the window with Pavel. "Jim! Jim! Don't leave!"

Monty didn't join in. Instead he stepped forward and took Leonard's hand offering him some small comfort. They stood there as the limo backed up and then drove down the drive, Pavel and Hikaru chasing it. He wanted to stop them, to pull them back and hold them, but Leonard couldn't move. He could only stand there, his eyes blinking rapidly as he watched Jim drive away from them, breaking his heart and the hearts of his boys. The only thing he could think was that it was all his fault.

James sat facing the view of the New York City skyline from his office on the ninety-fifth floor of the Kirk building. It was a sight he had always enjoyed, but now he found himself yearning for something else; something more welcoming, like the elms and dogwoods of Georgia.

He missed the boys. And he missed Bones.

His mother had chastised him repeatedly over the two months that he'd been back. He was too morose. He was pouting. At first she had attributed his moods to Gary and his actions. But Gary was the furthest thing from James' mind. When the depths of the other man's machinations had been revealed to him, he'd been pissed and hurt. But the anger had been the overriding emotion. He'd already begun to purge Gary from his psyche when everything had happened with Bones.

He'd settled back into work well enough. As far as anyone but his mother, Spock and probably Uhura knew, he'd been on vacation on one of the Kirk yachts all summer. He liked being back at work and he thrived in a corporate atmosphere, but the more time passed, the more he felt like something was missing and it was getting harder and harder to hide.

"James," his mother said as she breezed into his office and sat down in one of chairs in front of his desk.

"Mother," James replied, trying to hold back a sigh as he turned away from the view.

"This simply must stop," she demanded primly.

"What must stop?" James asked, one eyebrow rising in inquiry. It was like clockwork, these conversations with his mother and he wasn't going to make it easy on her.

"This…pining…that you insist on indulging in," she told him with a small frown. "It's unseemly. After what he did…"

"I know what he did," Jim felt himself snap. It was what bothered him most. He could not reconcile the Bones he had come to care for with the doctor who had initially used and taken advantage of him.

His mother crossed her arms and stared at him, a look of consternation on her face. "I just don't understand why, James. Why does he hold such fascination for you? He used you as a common servant, for God's sake!" She sighed, and then leaned forward slightly, her expression softening. "Why James? Why are you still thinking about him? Why are you still…" she trailed off and shrugged.

"Missing him?" James finished for her. "Maybe because he didn't know who I was and he still…he liked me."

"He said he didn't know who you were," Winona pointed out.

"He didn't," Jim argued. "He said he didn't know until just before you and Spock showed up."

"And you believe him?" she asked incredulously.

"I do," James admitted.

"Why?"

James thought about it for a moment. Thought of Bones' hesitance to make love with him, even though Jim was more than willing. How he'd always kept a certain distance between them, even though James knew that he was attracted to him and wanted him just as badly. "Because he's a good man," he finally told his mother, though he knew she wasn't going to like that answer. He believed it though.

As he expected, she scoffed at him. "He used you to clean his house and take care of his children."

"He let me be a part of his family," James countered. "Yes, it started as…something else," he admitted. "I realize that. But things changed. He accepted me. He liked me. And I liked him. We could talk to each other and it wasn't about business and it wasn't about money or what car to buy or the latest society scandal. It was about his day and my day and what the boys had done. It was normal."

"Normal," Winona said with a disdainful sniff. "We are not normal. _You_ are not normal. You were born with a birthright and I've held it in trust for you; I've grown it from what your father started into something bigger than he had ever dreamed."

"Did you love him?" James found himself asking, not really caring what she had done for Kirk Enterprises.

"Did I…?" she looked at him in shock.

"Did you love him?" James repeated slowly, waiting for an answer that he'd always wondered about. "Did you love my father?"

"Of course I did!" she snapped. "Of all the things to…"

He watched her, saw the flush to her cheeks, the sudden shininess in her eyes and he believed her. "Okay," he nodded.

"That's it?" she gaped at him. "Just okay?"

"Yeah," James shrugged. "I've always wondered. Do you think this is the life dad would have wanted for me?" he asked curiously.

"He would have wanted you to follow in his footsteps," Winona said surely, "to take over the business."

"Would he have dedicated his whole life to it?" James asked. Winona opened her mouth and he was sure she was going to say 'of course,' so he cut her off. "Would he have only focused on Kirk Enterprises and left everything else – me – for someone else to deal with?" It was a low blow, but it was an honest question.

"James," Winona frowned. "That was unfair. How many times can I apologize for the mistakes I made while you were growing up?"

James shrugged again, sitting back in his chair. "I don't know. I don't know if I've ever heard an apology. Not that I really want one, I don't think." He paused for a moment, thinking it over and then shook his head. "Doesn't matter."

"Then why are you bringing it up?" she asked, her jaw clenched angrily.

"I spent my whole childhood trying to make you happy; trying to earn your…acceptance and love," James told her bitterly. "You were never around, not when I needed you. Why was I never enough for you? Why wouldn't you just…love me?"

"Of course I loved you," she said in exasperation. "But Kirk Enterprises was in a very precarious situation throughout your childhood," she told him, her spine straightening as she spoke to him, like she was speaking to the board members. "I was fighting off corporate raiders and trying to build a strong base. Your father had such hopes for this company and I wasn't going to see it fail or be bought out. I did it for you, James. And it's not like I left you alone."

"True," James agreed. "I had nannies and tutors."

"Excellent ones," Winona agreed regally with a small nod.

"And lots of them," James countered. "Funny how whenever I got close to one of them they tended to move on," he said pointedly.

"That's not true!" Winona protested, though she didn't quite meet James' eyes. "You were a very intelligent child. Your educational needs were always changing and I had to adapt."

"Fine," James didn't want to argue the point. He'd done a lot of thinking since he'd left Georgia; a lot of self-reflection, and he found when he looked deep inside himself that what he really wanted was someplace to belong; acceptance. A family of his own. And he'd had that with Bones and the boys.

Her eyes narrowed, Winona threw up her hands dramatically. "This is just like Carol," she said in frustration.

James frowned slightly. "Yeah, maybe," he agreed, which totally threw off his mother. "I want a family," he admitted. "I want to belong."

"You have a family," Winona told him in frustration, as if it should be obvious.

"I have you, who only took an interest in me once it looked like I'd be a good asset to Kirk Enterprises."

"You were a difficult teenager," she pouted.

"And I have Spock," James continued, ignoring her. "Though, I'm not sure he counts since he's on your payroll."

"You are just like your father!" she declared, and it didn't sound like a compliment. "A romantic who never looks at the bigger picture."

"Thank you," Jim said, a small smile on his face.

Winona glared. "I built this for you, James," she told him, holding her arms out to encompass everything around them. "I took the tiny kernel of a business your father had started and made it into a force to be reckoned with; a business that spans our solar system and that you, with your brilliance, can take even further. You can conquer the galaxy James."

"I know," James nodded. He had every confidence in his abilities. "But I don't plan on sacrificing my life to it, Mother. I'm not like you. I am a romantic and I want a family. I want to find the balance that you didn't even bother trying to look for."

"Then where is he? Where's your doctor?" she asked vindictively.

"I don't know," James admitted, his eyes drifting away from his mother and back to the window. "I thought…If he…"

"If he truly cared for you, James," Winona said, "He would have been here by now."

James sighed. "I know." As the wounded party, James felt that Bones should be the one to come to him. He had his pride, after all. But the more time passed and Bones didn't contact him, the more unsure he became. Maybe he was seeing something that wasn't there. It wouldn't be the first time. "You can leave now, mother," James told her, though not unkindly. He was tired of arguing with her constantly. It was like being a teenager again. He hadn't been home much after the age of fourteen, at least not at the same time that she was, but when they'd somehow managed to be in the same room at the same time it hadn't been a good thing.

Standing, she came around his desk and put a hand on his shoulder. "I don't mean to hurt you, James," she said softly. "And I don't like seeing you hurt. But you have to be realistic. After what he did…I don't think he's coming. He would have already been here by now if he shared your feelings. If you want a family…I fully support that. I do," she repeated when she saw his incredulous look.

"It's what your father and I wanted, after all," she said with a weak smile.

Reaching up, James squeezed her hand. "Thanks, mom."

He watched her leave, not feeling much better. She was right though, it was time to get on with his life and focus on something else besides Bones. There was a biomedical research facility he had been looking at. Maybe they were willing to sell now.

Once again, James was sitting in his chair watching the New York skyline from his office, but this time he was on the comm. talking. It had been over a week since his last chat with his mother and he'd been busy working on an acquisition. Kirk Enterprises owned a very successful pharmaceutical company, but they hadn't entered the biomedical research field yet. James thought it was high time. After all his talks with Bones and learning what exactly the man was working on, he believed it was a good investment.

"Yes," he nodded, though no one else was in the room with him. "I'll have our lawyers contact yours. Trust me, Mr. Bengali when I say that your research will be in great hands. I know that this is the perfect partnership that will significantly advance neural research." He listened some more and then finally said good-bye.

He was feeling hopeful. This was an excellent opportunity for Kirk Enterprises, though Winona had looked at what she called his little pet project with a jaundiced eye. But Spock's research had supported what James was proposing so she had given in. James claimed that the acquisition had nothing to do with Bones specifically. He was only trying to capitalize on what he had learned from the man, but in the back of his mind James had the idea that he could use Bengali-Malhotra Research to build a connection with Bones once more.

The stubborn bastard still hadn't shown up and James was beginning to get frustrated. He still believed Bones should be the one to make the first move, but most likely it was going to have to be James. The more he thought about their last weeks together, the more James was able to recognize Bones' growing guilt at what he had done and the feelings he was having. He didn't doubt Bones' feelings for him; he didn't think the doctor was that good of an actor. He knew Bones felt the same way that he did, but the man was too grouchy by half and the other half was all stubbornness.

The grouchy bastard still blamed himself for ending his father's suffering, though it had been the humane thing to do. The fact that he'd purposely set out to use James was going to be a major stumbling block, no matter what their feelings were now. He just wasn't capable of seeing past his own feelings of guilt. In fact, if history taught Jim anything, Bones loved to wallow in his guilt, using it as a shield to keep people at bay. If it wasn't for the presence of the boys in Bones' life, Jim doubted he would have managed to climb out of the proverbial bottle he had once drunk himself into.

Jim was definitely a different creature than Bones. Like he would in the business world, James had decided he wanted Bones and he wasn't going to let anything get in the way of his goals. Not even Bones himself. He'd been willing to wait, but his patience was stretched pretty damn thin. He was going to give the other man until the weekend and then that was it. He'd already told his pilot to stand-by. If Bones wasn't going to come to him, then he'd just have to go to Bones.

He was reaching for his comm. to contact his driver when he saw a flash of something outside his door and heard what sounded like giggling.

"Riley?" he called out. He was all for his secretary finding a girlfriend, but he wasn't going to put up with any serenading outside his office again. There was no answer. Then a pair of blue eyes and dark blond curly hair peeked at him through his partially open door. He caught a flash of a gap toothed grin before the head pulled back.

"I found him!" he heard a familiar voice call out excitedly. Then there was a scuffle and Pavel and Hikaru raced into his office followed by a red-faced Riley holding Monty by the arm.

"Jim!" they smiled at him, racing to stand in front of his desk.

"I'm sorry, sir," Riley panted. "I caught them sneaking around and I managed to catch two, but the little one got away and…"

James stared flabbergasted at the three boys now in front of him, his heart suddenly trying to beat its way out of his chest. "Pasha! Hikaru!" He rounded his desk and pulled them into a fierce hug. "Riley, let go of Monty," he ordered.

Riley did as he was told and Monty grinned up at him before sticking out his tongue and giving him a kick in the shin. "Keep your hands to yourself, boy-o," Monty told him.

"Monty, be nice," James scolded, though he couldn't stop grinning.

Monty simply shrugged and walked over to where James was kneeling with the other two boys. "Hi, Jim."

"Hi, yourself," Jim stood up and pulled the preteen into a quick hug. "How the hell did you get here?"

"We flew!" Pavel declared.

"In a shuttle," Hikaru clarified, his grin almost splitting his face. Jim noticed that he'd lost a tooth and felt a pang that he'd missed it. Hikaru had been so jealous of the fact that Pavel had already lost several while he still had all his baby teeth. "But we didn't break atmosphere because it was too short of a flight."

"And Leo didn't even get sick," Pavel added.

"He did turn an interesting shade of green when we took off," Monty commented with a grin. "And he got really, really pale when we landed."

"And he swore a lot," Pavel nodded. "He says we can't repeat any of it."

"And you shouldn't," James agreed with a grin. "I didn't know he was afraid of flying."

"Hates it," Monty told him.

Looking around expectantly, James finally turned to look at the boys. "Where is he?"

"Security wouldn't let him up," Monty explained. "They said you weren't taking appointments and he wasn't on the approved list."

"So he's down there yelling at them," Pavel piped up, grabbing James' hand and swinging it as he bounced on his toes, obviously happy to be here.

"He's not yelling," Hikaru corrected him. "He's speaking firmly."

Monty grinned at James and rolled his eyes. "He was yelling when we left."

James was still having problems accepting that Bones was actually here, in New York, in his own building. "You left?" he asked, a slight frown on his face.

"Uh, well, you see," Monty started hesitantly, his grin fading slightly. "They weren't letting him up."

"So we decided to find you so that you'd tell your guards that it was okay," Hikaru finished.

"It was pretty easy," Monty continued. "We just pretended Pavel had to use the bathroom and they left us alone and we got on an elevator."

"It took us awhile to find you though," Pavel admitted. "We thought you'd be on the very tippy-top, but that was all big rooms with tables."

James had a sudden sinking feeling in his chest. "How long ago did you sneak away?" he asked. Bones was going to be furious – and worried – when he realized the boys were missing."

"Uh," Monty hesitated, glancing over at the chrono on the wall and then back at James, his expression sheepish.

"Monty?" James gave him a look that demanded an answer.

"'Bout a half hour," he admitted.

"Shit," James ran a hand over his face. "Bones is going to be pissed." Reaching across his desk, he hit the button for the front security desk.

"Yes, Mr. Kirk?" a voice answered promptly.

"Is there a man down there by the name of Dr. Leonard McCoy asking to see me?" James spoke.

"There was sir, but we just had him escorted from the building," was the quick answer.

"You what?" James asked incredulously.

"He was causing a scene and would not leave, sir," the security guard replied.

"And did he happen to mention anything about his children being missing?" James asked coolly.

The guard paused, realizing that something wasn't right. "He did, sir."

"And yet, you escorted him from the building – without his children." There was a definite chill to James' voice now.

"We thought…he was most insistent in seeing you and we thought it was just a ruse," the guard said after a pause, his confidence waning.

"And you didn't think to contact me?" James bit out.

"We didn't want to disturb you, sir. Besides, his name was on the list."

"The list? What list?" James demanded.

"The list of people who are not allowed access to the building."

Now James was pissed. "Who exactly put his name on this list?" he demanded.

"Uh," the guard paused. James heard clicking and then, "Your mother, sir."

Of course. "I see," James managed to reply. He took a deep, calming breath. "This is what you are going to do. You are going to go get Dr. McCoy. You are going to apologize profusely and you are going to escort him back into the building. I will be down in the lobby in three minutes and he better be there."

"But sir!" the guard sputtered. "NYPD is on the way and…"

"Then I suggest you hurry," James told him. "If he's not there by the time I arrive it's your job, do you understand?"

"Yes, sir!"

Turning away from the comm. James was met by the wide-eyed stares of Monty, Hikaru and Pavel.

"That was awesome," Monty said in awe. "You totally told him what was what!"

"I did, didn't I?" James grinned crookedly. "Come on," he said, grabbing Pavel's hand. "Riley," he said as he passed his secretary in the outer office. "Call my elevator."

"Already done, sir," Riley responded.

"Good man," James nodded, as he hustled the boys down the hallway and to the executive elevator. Stepping inside as the doors opened, James jabbed at the ground floor button. "Come on," he whispered under his breath, waiting for the doors to close.

The trip down from the ninety-fifth floor was ear-poppingly quick. The boys had their noses pressed to the transparent aluminum walls that allowed them to see outside the building as they descended, but James only had eyes for the floor numbers that spun by.

"Stay close," James ordered the boys. "And do _not_ leave the building under any circumstances," he added for good measure, before he hurried out of the elevator, not even letting the doors open fully. He practically sprinted down the hall to the main lobby. Luckily at just after three in the afternoon it was fairly empty. At first he couldn't see Bones, but then he heard him.

"Now, you believe me," he was saying loudly at the two guards who were escorting him in the main doors. "And take your hands off me," he demanded as he tried to shrug them off. "Where are my sons? What the hell…"

"Bones!" James called across the large room, his voice echoing.

Leonard's head shot up, his expression hopeful as he looked around. "Jim!" he yelled back, trying to get rid of the guards' grip on him.

"Let him go," James called out as he hurried towards the other man, smiling like a fool.

"Jim, the boys…" Leonard said worriedly as the met in the middle of the lobby, all eyes on them.

"I know," James nodded, still smiling. "They found me. They…"

"Thank god," Leonard sagged in relief.

"Bones," James said softly, his heart racing. Bones had come this far, all James wanted to do was pull the other man into his arms and never let him go, but he waited.

Realizing that the next move was up to him, Leonard frowned. Then, shaking his head, he reached out and pulled James into his arms. "Christ, Jim, I missed you," he whispered into his neck. "I…I don't think I can live without you."

James pulled back slightly, his smile blinding. "It took you long enough, old man," he whispered before leaning forward and kissing him with everything he had.

_Please review_


	7. Chapter 7

**Title**: Overboard (remix) epilogue

**Author**: RogueAngel

**Rating**: PG-13

**Characters/pairings**: Jim/Bones, with appearances of Spock, Gary Mitchell, Scotty, Sulu, Chekov and Winona. Passing mentions of Rand, Chapel, Uhura, and Riley.

**Word count**: 34,000+ (I just can't write short fics!)

**Seven months later**

"Jim, I'm not signing this," Leonard declared, marching into James' office and tossing a sheaf of papers onto his desk.

Not the least bit phased by his imposing frown, James didn't even glance down at the offending document, but instead looked directly at Leonard, an eyebrow lifted in question. "It's a standard prenuptial agreement, Bones," he said calmly.

"Yeah, I can see that," Leonard barked, causing Riley who was seated in front of James' desk taking notes to jump. "And I ain't signing it."

Riley made to stand up and excuse himself, trying to be inconspicuous. He'd come to fear Leonard's temper, though the doctor had never done anything more than growl at the secretary from time to time.

"Riley, please remain seated," James ordered, before turning back to Leonard. "I don't see the problem Bones."

"That thing is ridiculous," Leonard huffed, crossing his arms and glaring at James. "Twenty-five percent after five years, fifty after ten? That's just insane."

Riley's eyes boggled.

James sighed. "Then what do you want, Bones?"

"I already told you," Leonard snapped, "though apparently you're deaf. I want nothing!"

At that pronouncement, Riley's jaw dropped.

"If I'm idiot enough to ruin this then I don't deserve a damn thing," Leonard declared. "And besides, I can support myself. Damn it, Jim, I am a doctor, not some kind of kept man!"

"I know that Bones, but…"

"Damn it Jim," Leonard interrupted him by banging a hand on the desk, once again causing Riley to jump. "I ain't marrying you for your damn money, kid. I don't need anything from you."

"But what about…" James tried again.

"No," Leonard cut him off, stalking around the desk and resting his hands on the arms of James' chair. "If I fuck this up I'll take the residuals from my research like any other research fellow, but I don't want a dime of your damn money." He paused, his frown fierce, but then it softened. "I only want you, kid." Not waiting for a response, he leaned forward and kissed James, pressing him back into the chair.

Grinning, James ran a hand through Leonard's hair before nipping at his lips playfully. "What about the provisions for the boys?" he asked after a few more kisses.

Leonard pulled back, his expression once again stormy. "Now I will not let you renege on your responsibilities to our boys. You're legally their father now and you will take care of them come hell or high water, you hear me?" he said, shaking a finger at him.

Jim's smile widened. He leaned around Leonard. "Riley, you're dismissed. Please close the door behind you. And you better cancel all my appointments for the afternoon."

"Yes sir," Riley was out of his seat and across the office before James finished speaking. "I'll hold all your calls too."

"Good idea," James said absently. Standing up, he pushed Leonard onto his desk, his hands already on the buttons of his shirt.

"Damn it, Jim," Leonard scowled, not resisting in the least. "I'm supposed to be in the lab in fifteen minutes.

"You're going to be late," James grinned. "But don't worry, I know your boss. I'll write you a note." He muffled Leonard's response with his mouth.

"James Kirk's office," Riley answered the comm. "No, I'm sorry Ms. Kirk," Riley replied efficiently, his posture stiffening. "He's…in a meeting." He cringed as he listened to her. "Yes, ma'am, with Dr. McCoy. Uh…well, I think it might be awhile, actually," he said, his face turning red. "Probably an hour, maybe two." He paused, once again listening. "Yes ma'am. I'll let him know."

Ending the comm. he reached forward and turned up the volume of his music player. They really needed to work on the sound proofing of the doors in this building, he thought, resting his head in his hands wearily.

The clearing of a throat caught his attention a few moments later. Sitting up, he nodded respectfully at Spock.

Spock looked at Riley, his music speakers, and the closed door behind him. "Dr. McCoy is visiting?" he asked, one eyebrow lifted in inquiry.

"Yes, sir," Riley nodded, wincing at the thud followed by a moan that floated from the office behind him.

"I will return in an hour," Spock intoned, turning away.

There was a deep laugh followed by a drawn out groan.

"Better make it two hours, sir," Riley suggested.

"Indeed."

**The End**

_Please review_


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